Competing factions in the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), purportedly vying for organisational sway ahead of inner-party elections, endeavoured to hammer out the composition of the party’s district and block committees through a seemingly protracted process of mutual accommodation.
Wrangling between traditional and emergent factions in the KPCC over the preselection of office-bearers had constrained the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to hold back the vaunted restructuring of the party in Kerala.
Two back-to-back defeats in Assembly elections had prompted the national leadership to embark on the restructuring process.
It aspired to convert the party into a hardy election-winning machine by ensuring a relatively young and socially diverse demographic in leadership positions.
However, the process ran into strong headwinds with a set of Congress MPs and leaders from Kerala accusing the KPCC leadership of filling party units with loyalists to ensure its dominance in the upcoming organisational polls.
Intra-party objections
By some accounts, KPCC president K. Sudhakaran smelt a rat. His backers allegedly attributed the “unexpected” intramural objection to party reorganisation to an “incipient faction” led by Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan and backed by AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal.
Mr. Venugopal has not responded to the imputation. However, Mr. Satheesan vehemently denied the accusation. He told reporters in Kannur that he was no group leader. “There is no group in the name of the Opposition Leader. I will quit my post if I become part of any group”.
Mr. Satheesan perceived a plot to tarnish his non-partisan image in the party. Some sections of the media played second fiddle to the conspiracy. Mr. Satheesan appeared to reaffirm his faith in Mr. Sudhakaran’s leadership. The KPCC had sensed an intrigue to sow divisions in the party.
Mr. Satheesan said he and Mr. Sudhakaran would finalise the list of office-bearers through consensus.
The AICC general secretary (Kerala), Tariq Anwar, echoed a similar view in New Delhi. He said the KPCC would complete the reorganisation process without rancour.
The KPCC would accommodate those displaced from whittled down jumbo committees in other posts. It would consult ‘A’ and ‘I’ groups before finalising the list of new office-bearers.
The AICC has informed the State unit that it should ensure that inner-party disputes did not upend the organisational election calendar set by the party’s high command.
