The immediate cause for the sudden spurt in group fighting has been the announcement of the organizational elections. It triggered a war of words with leaders belonging to various factions rushing to the press with statements either in support of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala or against him.

The first salvo was fired by senior leader P C Chacko who said Chennithala should refrain from making statements as KPCC president now that the organisational elections have been declared. Political grapevine has it that Chacko was only voicing the resentment of a section of Congress leaders against Chennithala.

Though Chennithala himself did not react to Chacko's caustic comments, two of his staunch supporters, K C Venugopal and K. Sudharkaran lost no time in countering the Chacko line. They contended that the KPCC chief had every right to issue statements and lay down policies to strengthen the organization till the elections were over.

Senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy did a fine balancing act by supporting Chennithala's style of functioning. But the leader of the opposition also avoided criticizing Chacko for his unflattering remarks against Chennithala. This is being interpreted in Congress circles as Chandy's desire to appear reasonable and win the support of both the factions.

The high decibel level of the war of words saw the Congress high command intervening and issuing a stern note of warning to the various factions. But the admonition has had only a partial effect as there has been hardly any let-up in the verbal fireworks resorted to by the factional leaders.

As if this was not enough, there are other problems confronting the party high command. For instance, the finalization of names for the 14 district Congress committee presidents' posts has become a headache for the high command. The difficulty in finalising the names is being attributed to the intense tussle mainly between the Unified I group headed by Ranmesh Chennithala and the A group led by Oommen Chandy. Talks to evolve a consensus have not yielded fruits as both the factions have refused to budge from their respective stances. Both are keen on getting control of more DCCs than is the case at present.

Not to be left behind, the Karunakaran faction is also demanding its pound of flesh. The Congress patriarch is said to be firm in getting at least three DCC presidents' posts for his supporters: Thrissur, Kollam and Palakkad. Of course, the Leader, as Karunakaran is known among his supporters, is also insisting that the high command gratify his dearest wish: re-entry into the Congress for his son, K. Muralidharan, who had been expelled from Congress for his anti-party activities.

However, the state Congress leadership is learnt to be in no mood to concede Karunakaran's demands. There are reports that the state Congress leaders are finding it difficult to oblige the Karunakaran group as the Leader's daughter Padmaja Venugopal, who has emerged as the group's main spokesperson, is said to have pitched its demands too high. An angry Karunakaran has dashed off a letter to the party high command seeking its intervention to ensure justice for his supporters.

Needless to say, the intensity of group rivalry has made the task of the party high command extremely difficult. Indications are that the crisis will be resolved only with the intervention of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The next scene in the organizational poll drama may therefore be enacted in the national capital. (IPA)