Trouble flared up when former KPCC president, K. Muralidharan criticized the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF)’s failure to function as an effective opposition in the state.

Tension escalated with KPCC spokesman, Rajmohan Unnithan, who is close to KPCC president V M Sudheeran in the current alignment of forces within the party, launching a fierce counter-attack – a verbal volley which became too personal - against Muralidharan.

The episode turned a violent turn with Murali’s supporters trying to assault Unnithan in Kollam when the latter went to attend a function marking the 131 anniversary of the Congress.

The ugly turn of events excited the anger of senior Congress leader A K Antony and the Congress High Command. AICC leader in charge of Kerala Mukul Wasnik promptly clamped a ban on public statements by party leaders. But such bans have never been effective in the past.

The malady has gone far too deep to be amenable to simple cures. Need of the hour is drastic surgery to restore normal health of the party in the state.

Of course, the immediate cause of the growing unrest is the selection of new district Congress committee presidents. The A group headed by former chief minister Oommen Chandy is extremely unhappy over the selection of the new team. His group has been meted out a raw deal in the selection of new DCCs, Chandy felt.

And since then, he has embarked upon a course of non-cooperation. For instance, the KPCC chief wants to hold a meeting of the high-power Political Affairs Committee to discuss the unrest in the party. However, Chandy is in no mood to attend the PAC meeting. That is his way of expressing disapproval of the manner in which new DCC presidents have been named.

Chandy, whose stars are on the decline since the crushing defeat the Congress-led UDF suffered in the State Assembly elections, has set his sights on the control of the KPCC. He was not very enthusiastic about the idea of DCC revamp. What the former CM is aiming at is reorganization of the KPCC right from the lowest level. Chandy thinks that unless he manages to wrest control of the party organisation, he would never regain the pre-eminent position he enjoyed in the party. However, there are many hurdles to Chandy pulling it off easily.

It is difficult to say what turn the Congress politics would take. But one thing is for sure. Unless the party learns appropriate lessons, the path to its future progress would not be smooth at all. (IPA Service)