The faction war in Kerala's Congress party has intensified with the 'I' group in it led by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala initiating a fresh move against the 'A' group headed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who is facing the charge of protecting corrupt Ministers within his group and in other constituent parties of the Congress-headed ruling UDF and the 'A' group mustering all resources available to it to counter the move.
The battle of the 'I' group, the ultimate goal of which is 'leadership change', meaning the replacement of Chandy as Chief Minister — the UDF Government has got only 13 months left in its tenure — is in its preliminary stages and may escalate after the Assembly bypoll in Aruvikkara constituency and the civic polls which are expected to be held in September.
The 'I' group argues that the image of the party has been tarnished terribly because of the several scams that have hit the party and the ruling front since eruption of the solar scandal in June, 2013. They point out that it was the Chief Minister who had caused the situation to worsen in all these scams with the protection he allegedly extended to the guilty Ministers and other leaders.
"It is true that the Congress party is trapped in a cloud of smoke," admitted State Congress spokesman Ajay Tharayil, a loyalist of former Union minister Vayalar Ravi, whose miniscule faction is now part of the extended 'I' group of Chennithala. "But I don't want to say whether there should be a leadership or not," Ajay added.
The immediate provocation behind the 'I' group's move against Chandy and his faction is the disclosure that Excise Minister K Babu, a staunch loyalist of the Chief Minister and a strong advocate of the 'A' group, had taken Rs 10 crore as bribe from bar owners. This has put the Government in a difficult situation as there is pressure to launch a probe against him.
The 'I' group is also attacking the Chief Minister over the protection he is said to have been giving to Finance and law Minister KM Mani of the Kerala Congress who is facing a Vigilance case for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 1 crore from bar owners. Chandy has already given a clean chit to Mani, who is also accused of leaking out Budget proposals for money.
"The condition of the party in our opinion is so pathetic that it cannot ensure the victory of any Congress candidate in the next Assembly election, thanks to the history of scams," said an 'I' group leader. "This is the inescapable reality and the Congress can't afford this especially in the current national scenario. We have to fix the responsibility for this," he said. The current move of the 'I' group is to limit its demand to adoption of corrective measures. If the results of the next civic polls and the by-election in Aruvikkara Assembly seat, necessitated by the death of Speaker G Karthikeyan, go against the Congress and the UDF, it will change the demand into change of leadership making the war against Chandy open.
The 'A' group is aware of the move of its adversaries and Chandy-loyalists have ruled out any possibility of leadership change. "No discussion in this regard is taking place in the party. It is all media creation," claimed Congress leader T Siddique, a Chandy-loyalist. "Why should the Chief Minister go even if the tainted Ministers have to resignIJ" asked another 'A' group leader.
However, legal experts have advised the 'A' group that the Government will eventually have to order a probe against the Excise Minister since the charge he faces is similar to the one against Mani in whose name an FIR has been filed. But Babu has already said that he would not cling on to technicalities if an FIR was filed indicating that he will resign in such a situation.
The 'A' group believes that the Congress's allies in the UDF, especially the major front partners, will stand by Chandy in the event of a real move to replace him as Chief Minister. "Also, despite all the adverse publicity he is getting in relation to the scams, he is the strongest leader within the Congress now," said a senior editor of a pro-Congress newspaper.