Congress A' group guns for VM Sudheeran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi has summoned the KPCC leadership to New Delhi on Saturday with a plethora of leaders cutting across group affiliations bringing to his notice rampant group activities that resulted in the party getting defeated in the Assembly elections.

Party sources told this newspaper that former chief minister Oommen Chandy, KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran and Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala would be told, ‘Enough of group politics’ or let a new crop of leaders come up replacing them.

When Mr Sudheeran had called on Mr Gandhi the other day he tried to highlight the requirement of having a policy formation committee so as to revive the party to its old charm. It is unclear whether Mr Gandhi had agreed to the proposal as Congress leaders feel that it was a ploy to save his face from the poll debacle and hoodwink the AICC leadership.

Mr Sudheeran had highlighted that he would revamp the party, which the leaders feel was another strategy to take a partisan attitude and appoint leaders of their choice depending upon the interests of various groups. On Thursday, former forest minister and prominent ‘A’ group leader Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan called on Rahul Gandhi.

“The main allegation Thiruvanchur raised against Mr Sudheeran was that he is trying to bring up his own group. A ‘vaccum’ is being felt at the KPCC leadership,” said a source close to Mr Thiruvanchur. However, Congress leaders feel that if organisational level elections are conducted, chances of the Congress being revived are high.

But again it has to be conducted right from the booth level and upwards till the DCC and finally at the PCC level. They feel that if this was done, a new crop of youth leaders can rise which was stalled by the existing KPCC leadership. Youth leaders under the banner of ‘Revive Congress’ has been demanding for generational change in KPCC even before the Assembly elections.