Mullapally Ramachandran furious over move for consensus

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress leaders, including MPs K. V. Thomas and K. C. Venugopal,  held talks  with AICC returning officer Sudarshan Nachiappan on the organisational revamp here on Monday.   The list of the   280-member governing council of KPCC will be finalised by the end of this month. Mr Mullapally Ramachandran,  chairman of the party election authority, has not taken kindly to the  move for consensus on the party posts. A section of Congress leaders rooting for organisational elections has  sent a memorandum to Mr Mullapally seeking his intervention.

A  Congress MLA told DC after  meeting  Mr Nachiappan on Monday that  Mr  Thomas and Mr Venugopal had cautioned the AICC leader against  antagonising the groups.  Neutral leaders must also be accommodated in the KPCC, DCC and at  the lower levels  of the party, they said. “The existing leaders and supporters cannot be ignored, but aged persons  can be removed,”  said the  MLA.

Some Congressmen have resented the way the two MPs  have tried to project themselves in the party.   “Thomas and Venugopal have occupied  various party positions due to their proximity to the  late K. Karunakaran and later  Mr Ramesh Chennithala. But now they are trying to act smart without  questioning the group rivalries in the party,”  said a  Congress leader.

‘I’ group leaders like KPCC vice-president V. D. Satheesan MLA, former MLA Joseph Vazhakkan and former Kannur MP K. Sudhakaran are busy preparing the list of the camp followers to be included in the party set-up.  Political Affairs Committee member Benny Behanan and organisational general secretary Thampanoor Ravi of the ‘A’ group are compiling their list.  Thrissur DCC president T. N. Prathapan along with KPCC treasurer Johnson Abraham is  preparing the names of the supporters of former  KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran, who has   demanded at least five representations in each district in the organisational revamp.