Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president, V. M. Sudheeran, is firm on corrective action to make the party fighting fit for the crucial assembly elections due in May next year.

As part of the move, the KPCC chief is contemplating revamp of the party organisation in districts like Kannur, Kollam, Malappuram, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad, where the Congress’s show has been below par.

It may be mentioned that the KPCC president has received complaints against leaders like K. Sudhakaran, P. Ramakrishnan in Kannur, Cooperative Minister C. N. Balakrishnan in Thrissur and V. S. Sivakumar in Thiruvananthapuram.

The poor show of the party in these districts is being attributed to the disregard of the guidelines set by the KPCC in the matter of candidate seletion and against factionalism.

For instance, the blame for loss of the Kannur Corporation for the first time in 140 years has been ascribed to senior leader K. Sudhakaran and his loyalists who belong to the I group led by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala.

Likewise, the party’s dismal show in Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram districts has been blamed on leaders like Balakrishnan and Health Minister V S Sivakumar, both belonging to the I group.

The KPCC chief is credited with the view that unless firm action is taken against erring leaders, the Congress will find it difficult to retain power in the upcoming assembly elections.

But therein lies the problem. For, both Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who leads the dominant A group, and Chennithala are not at all keen on disciplinarfy action. They seem to fear that any drastic action at this stage could upset their calculations and mar the chances of their respective groups in the looming poll battle. Obviously, they also do not want the KPCC chief to take the credit for taking disciplinary action against the group leaders who have stood by them through thick and thin. Any step that would strengthen the hands of Sudheeran is anathema to both Chandy and Chennithala. In fact, the Kannur strongman, K. Sudhakaran has openly opposed any action against dissidents. His reasoning: any disciplinary action is bound to prove counter-productive in a ‘democratic’ party like the Congress!

That being the ground reality, Sudheeran’s move for strict action against erring party leaders, will, in all probability, prove a damp squib. (IPA)