The entry of former Congress leader P.C. Chacko into the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on the eve of the Kerala Assembly polls and his subsequent elevation as its State president appears to have led to a rift between his supporters and old timers in the party.
Sources said that Mr. Chacko, who replaced senior leader T.P. Peethambaran, had taken the reins of the party in Kerala by revamping both the State unit and districts. Besides, a faction — owing allegiance to Minister for Forests A.K. Saseendran — is also feeling infuriated by the replacement of office-bearers and even the appointment of the personal staff for the Minister.
Already several district units have been revamped. Only Kozhikode and Alappuzha have been left untouched as they have a legislator each. Besides, K.R. Rajan, who was recently appointed as the State general secretary (organisational), issued a circular saying that all government-related recommendations would be channelised and vetted by the State committee, sources said.
The so-called socialist political entity, which earlier had two groups led by Mr. Saseendran and Mr. Peethambaran, worked within the ambit of the party though their love-hate relationship often spilled out into the public domain. The factionalism also culminated in Mani.C. Kappan, Pala MLA, abandoning the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front, and pulling off a victory from the constituency again with the support of the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
Sources said that Mr. Chacko had the blessings of NCP Central committee given his 'lobbyist- style' functioning in the corridors of power in Delhi. This was reflected at the time of formation of the Pinarayi Vijayan 2.0 Cabinet when he strongly rooted for Mr. Saseendran over newly elected legislator, Thomas K Thomas, from Kuttanad. With Mr. Chacko at the helm, the situation was rapidly changing in the NCP, the sources said.
The seasoned politician, who has had a run for several decades in the Congress, also enjoys a strong rapport with the NCP National president, Sharad Pawar, since the days of the formation of the Indian National Congress (U) and its later avatar, the Indian Congress (Socialist).
The return of Mr. Pawar to his parent party also saw Mr. Chacko returning to the Congress in 1987. But Mr. Chacko remained in the Congress when Mr. Pawar along with P.A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar founded the NCP in 1999, questioning the proposal of the party to name Italy-born Sonia Gandhi, who had entered party politics as the prime ministerial candidate. Now the NCP has provided him a political platform, after the Congress refused to give him ticket to contest the Lok Sabha or Assembly polls, the sources said.
