JOIN USResentment against Congress, BJP leadership in Kerala after poor election outcome
An overhaul of the top brass of Congress and BJP seems to be in the offing as parties' dismal performance in the Assembly elections has given way to resentment among the party members.
Disappointment among Congress members came out in the open as many leaders indicated the need for a leadership change. C Raghunath, Congress candidate at Dharmadam, the home turf of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, had openly demanded the resignation of Kerala PCC president Mullappally Ramachandran. Raghunath also demanded that Kerala PCC working president and Lok Sabha MP K Sudhakaran should be made the PCC president.
One district Congress committee president has already tendered his resignation, while a sitting MLA who lost the elections announced that he would be keeping off from electoral politics hereafter.
Apart from the bad performance across the state, Congress was also upset that the victory margin for senior leaders like Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala came down considerably. Many young legislators of the party also tasted defeat in the election.
Party sources said that the next leadership meet of the party would be stormy. A demand to look for a new leader of opposition instead of Ramesh Chennithala may also come up.
Feelings in the BJP Kerala unit are similar against state president K Surendran, who lost both from both his seats. Resentment had prevailed before among top leaders in the party against elevating Surendran to state president post. With the poor results, a section of supporters of dissident leader Shobha Surendran alleged that election posters were found unused at the premises of a top leader's aide's premises.