Resentment against K C Venugopal's alleged intervention in Kerala Congress restructuring

Congress sources in Kerala said that Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala would convey their resentment over Venugopal's interventions to the AICC leadership

Resentment is brewing among Congress leaders in Kerala over the alleged interventions of AICC general secretary K C Venugopal in finalising the list of Kerala PCC office-bearers.

If the unrest in the Congress over the selection of District Congress Committee presidents last month broke out only after AICC announced the list, top party leaders in Kerala now seem to be putting pressure ahead of the AICC finalising the office bearers.

It was learnt that even as the Kerala PCC leadership handed over a draft list to AICC general secretary in-charge of Kerala, Tariq Anwar, a couple of days back, Venugopal was allegedly making interventions to include some of his loyalists, particularly from his home town Alappuzha.

Congress sources in Kerala said that some prominent leaders like former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and former opposition leaders Ramesh Chennithala would convey their resentment over Venugopal's interventions to the AICC leadership. Venugopal seems to be taking advantage of his proximity with Rahul Gandhi, said a Congress source.

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After the announcement of district presidents of the party last month, the major concern raised by prominent leaders like Chandy and Chennithala was that though their suggestions were sought, they were kept in the dark about the draft list sent by the Kerala PCC to the AICC. But now even as senior leaders were made aware of the draft list, it was alleged that Venugopal was making further interventions after it reached Delhi.

The major aim of new Congress leadership in Kerala comprising PCC president K Sudhakaran and opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala is to bring down the 'jumbo committee' of over 150 officer bearers to 51. As a result, the leadership is struggling to accommodate the interests of all leaders.

There were also reports that some prominent leaders, including a former minister, even threatened to quit the party in protest of not being considered in the draft list. Five prominent leaders had already quit the party after the list of district presidents was announced.

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