Thiruvananthapuram, March 13 (BPNS)
After the drubbing in the five assembly elections, the results of which were announced on March 10, protests have commenced from the Congressmen against the national leadership of the party. The ire is mostly directed against the power general secretary (Organisation) of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) K.C. Venugopal who is from Kerala.
Flex boards have come up on Sunday morning at many parts of Kozhikode in North Kerala against K.C. Venugopal making him accountable for the drubbing the party has received in the five states. The flex read, “K.C. resign from the AICC post or party leadership should kick him out”.
While the ire of the local party workers is understandable given the party losing power in Kerala in 2021 elections giving the CPM led Left front a continuation of power which had never happened in the state.
Back-to-back electoral defeats in the state and at a national level have brought Congress into a dull phase with the cadres and middle-level leaders dejected and frustrated.
Coupled with this the main ire against Venugopal is at his interference in Kerala’s Congress party’s affairs by appointing his key man V.D. Satheeshan as Leader of Opposition in the state assembly removing senior leader Ramesh Chennithala from the post.
The “I” and “A” groups of Congress party which were dominating the state Congress had felt the pinch after the advent of K.C. Venugopal in the echelons of Congress power centres and interference in state Congress affairs.
While K.C. Venugopal does not have ground support in Kerala, his closeness to Ten Janpath and Rahul Gandhi was the one reason why senior leaders of the Congress in Kerala were openly not coming out against him.
However, with the Congress getting weakened by the day at the national level and the G23 raising the banner of revolt, the state Congress leaders are trying to play a shadow game against K.C.Venugopal by using their group cadres to raise flex boards against the AICC general secretary.
In Kannur and Kasargod districts of North Kerala also, Venugopal has received the ire of the party cadres with posters appearing near all the Congress local offices.
The powerful,” I” and “A” group leaders of the Congress party were baying for the blood of K.C.Venugopal in covert and overt manners but didn’t have had the guts to open a war against him due to his proximity to the national leaders, especially Rahul Gandhi.
With the Congress party battered and bruised in the elections, the Congress group leaders who were down at the emergence of new leadership in state Congress are trying to make use of the opportunity and go for the blood of K.C. Venugopal.
The future days of Congress politics in Kerala seem to be interesting with the possibilities of several leaders coming out in the open against Venugopal in his home state giving a fresh impetus for his critics of the party at the national level including the G23 leaders.
