Kerala Assembly polls: Rifts in Congress over candidate selection

Open resentment by party leaders and poster campaigns against probable candidates in some constituencies are casting a shadow over Congress' future in Kerala

Groupism in the Kerala Congress has come into focus again as senior leader P C Chacko resigned from the party and other senior party members like K Muraleedharan expressed resentments.

Top Congress leaders in the state, especially Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, had been reiterating that the party would fight the elections unitedly. However, many leaders and workers allege that both these leaders are lobbying for their loyalists and no importance is being given to victory factors. Chennithala is considered to be heading the ‘I’ group and Chandy the ‘A’ group.

A slew of allegations against the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front recently raised the hopes of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) winning the elections. However, the ongoing groupism, open resentment by party leaders and poster campaigns against probable candidates in some constituencies are casting a shadow over their prospects.

Read | Factionalism is the bane of Congress in Kerala, says P C Chacko after resignation

Soon after the setback faced by the UDF in the recent local body election, many senior Congress leaders had openly complained about the party's internal issues. The national leadership had chipped in and reportedly given strict instructions to the senior leaders to ensure that the criteria for candidate selection should be winnability factors and not group factors. But things seem to be back to square one as there were reports that both Chandy and Chennithala were trying to push for their loyalists.

Sources in the Congress said that many sitting MPs, especially those who resigned their MLA post and contested in the Lok Sabha polls, were now exploring the chances of contesting the Assembly polls. This was mainly due to hopes of becoming a minister in the state if UDF comes to power and the diminishing strength of the Congress at the national level.

MPs K Muraleedhran and K Sudhakaran, who have been openly flaying the party leadership in the state, were learnt to be among those who want to contest in state Assembly polls and the state leadership is now considering it positively, said party sources.

Meanwhile, many Congress leaders in Kerala strongly feel that the present move of P C Chacko was not due to internal issues in Congress, but due to his plans to join the BJP.