AICC still divided over next KPCC president

Thiruvananthapuram: On the eve of the AICC session,  the KPCC is yet to have a new face  at the helm of the party. Sources close to Defence Minister A. K. Antony told DC that he was keen on choosing either  Speaker G. Karthikeyan or senior  leader V. M. Sudheeran.

But with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi rooting for a young leader,  a decision has not been taken.  The ‘I’ camp leaders hope that if Ramesh Chennithala retains his additional responsibility as party chief till the Lok Sabha elections, they will get a  leeway when candidates are finalised.

When Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala called on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi early this month, they expressed their wish to make  GK  the party chief.
“There was opposition from Rahul Gandhi on this as he prefers to see a youth leader. The majority of us feel that GK has  75 percent chance and Sudheeran  25 percent  to become the new party chief,”  said a Congress leader.

There are reports that Sudheeran has been called to New Delhi where he will be made the AICC general secretary. But he told DC that he was going to attend the AICC meeting and there was nothing more to it than that.

“The media reports are all rumours. I have always been attending the AICC sessions. Let the AICC make the announcement on the prospective KPCC chief. If they appoint some other leader as the new chief and even if they don’t appoint me as AICC general secretary, I will take it in my stride,”  he said.

Meanwhile, the ‘I’ camp feels  that if there is further delay in making the announcement, Chennithala should continue  to hold the post. “The new chief may  be announced within two days. If not, there is nothing wrong in Chennithala continuing as chief, as our group will get preference in the selection of  LS candidates,”  a senior ‘I’ group leader said.