The KPCC reconstitution, which has produced a 69-strong jumbo committee, has also triggered a major crisis over the appointment of the new DCC president in Thrissur district.

Leaders belonging to the Vishala I group, led by KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala, including Thrissur MLA Therambil Ramakrishnan, have risen in revolt against the decision of the AICC to appoint O Abdurahman Kutty, a member belonging to the rival A group headed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, as the new Thrissur DCC chief.

A protest convention called by the I group in the district has threatened that all I group leaders would quit the party posts if the A group nominee continued as the DCC president. In a move, which amounts to a serious violation of party discipline, the convention has also set up a steering committee to organise further protests in the days to come.

The I group is angry because, instead of retaining V Balram as the Thrissur DCC president, the party high command named Abdurahman Kutty as the new chief, ignoring the overwhelming sentiments of thousands of party workers in the district. The group’s anger is directed mainly at Thrissur MP PC Chacko, who is said to be instrumental in making Abdurahman Kutty the new Thrissur DCC chief. Thrissur is considered the home turf of the late K Karunakaran. And over the last 32 years, only a Karunakaran loyalist has held the district Congress committee chief’s post. That is why the decision to give the DCC president’s post to the rival group this time has met with vehement opposition.

The I group’s act of defiance has put KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala on the horns of a severe dilemma. Ramesh is already under tremendous pressure to act against the I group leaders who held a convention and formed a steering committee. But it will be difficult for him to act against his own followers. At the same time, if he does not take any action, he would expose himself to the charge of conniving at an act against the party high command’s decision. No wonder, Chennithala has maintained a tight-lipped silence so far!

The revamped KPCC, which boasts as many as 21 general secretaries and 42 secretaries, has already become a butt of ridicule. Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan quipped that the KPCC president will have to book a marriage hall to hold a meeting of the newly-reconstituted KPCC!

The exercise is being construed as a major setback for Oommen Chandy as his group has managed to get only six out of 14 DCC presidents’ posts. The group also lost the prestigious battle for the control of the Kannur DCC, which now has a president who belongs to the I group. It is regarded as a personal victory for Kannur MP K Sudhakaran (a Chennithala loyalist) whose nominee is the new Kannur DCC chief. Likewise, the Chandy group has also had the mortification of seeing the Palakkad DCC president’s post going to the I group nominee. Trouble is said to be brewing in the district over the decision.

The ball is now in the court of the party high command, which is also responsible for the sorry state of affairs in the state unit. A section of Congress leaders is of the view that, by approving the list prepared by Chennithala and Chandy without much change, the high command has put a premium on groupism. It could have done better by heeding the sane advice tendered by senior leaders like V M Sudheeran and Mullappally Ramachandran that merit, not group affiliations, should be the sole criterion for appointment to the KPCC. But their suggestions and warnings have been ignored.

A solution to the Thrissur tangle is not going to be easy. Refusal to reverse the decision could cost the party dear in the Lok Sabha elections due in 2014. Ominously, the I group leaders have warned of electoral setbacks in 2014 if the high command does not rescind the decision. Conversely, if the high command succumbs to the pressure, it could encourage such acts of rebellion in other districts, too. Such a denouement can have serious implications for unity in the party and the survival of the UDF government in the state led by it, which are struggling to reverse the sharp slump in popularity.(IPA Service)