Kerala’s Congress president Ramesh Chennithala has abandoned his three-week-old dream to join the party-led UDF Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, leaving the responsibility for putting an end to the intense group war in the State party unit on the shoulders of national president Sonia Gandhi.
Sources in the Congress’s ‘I’ group led by Chennithala said that he would not stake claim for a Cabinet post. Also, he would not take part in any kind of discussions with Chandy regarding this, they said. “The decision is that he would continue as State party chief, letting Chandy and his men run the Government,” said a leader close to Chennithala.
In effect, the ‘I’ group’s threat is that the party unit will from now on be functioning on its own without taking much interest in the affairs of the Government. This situation would cause much headache to the high command at a time when the entire party is starting to prepare for the next lok Sabha election.
Chennithala came to the decision of abandoning his wish to join the Cabinet after a meeting between him and Chandy on Wednesday night failed to come to a decision on what portfolio he would occupy. The party chief asked for the post of Home Minister but Chandy, head of the congress’s ‘A’ group, rejected this demand outright as he had done twice earlier.
The State party chief is expected to announce to the media his decision to withdraw from the move to join the Cabinet provided the high command permits him to do so. According to observers, it would be a huge blow to Chandy as it would create a feeling among the people that the Government does not have the moral and emotional backing of the party.
leaders of the ‘I’ group like KP Anil Kumar, State general secretary, allege that Chandy and his ‘A’ group have been humiliating Chennithala by inviting him to join the Cabinet while refusing to give him a key post. This was part of a conspiracy to tarnish the image of Chennithala, whose popularity had increased after his highly successful April 18-May 18 Kerala yatra, they feel.
The national leadership had last Monday instructed Chief Minister Chandy to settle the dispute through discussions with Chennithala, within the Congress and in the ruling coalition if that was needed. But the collapse of the Ramesh-Chandy talks and the resultant escalation in the group war has sent the ball back to the high command’s court.
According to the sources, Madhusudan Mistry, AICC general secretary in-charge of Kerala Affairs, has already informed Chandy and Chennithala that there is no need of any more discussions between them on the issue and that the required decision would now be taken by the high command.
Chandy reportedly told Mistry that the problems in Kerala had worsened due to Chennithala’s refusal to agree to conciliatory efforts while the PCC president informed that the CM had been humiliating him after inviting him to join the Cabinet. With this, the national leadership is convinced that its immediate intervention in Kerala affairs is required.
At the same time, lobbying for and against Chennithala started in Delhi. After meeting Sonia on Thursday, senior leader PJ Kurien opined that it would be good for the Congress if the PCC chief was made Kerala’s Home minister. Union Minister KV Thomas, who also met Sonia, said that leaders Kerala were capable of settling disputes in the State party unit.