Kerala’s groupism-riddled Congress is likely to see the birth of yet another group soon. Efforts are already on, if sources are to be believed, for the formation of a new faction under the leadership of the son and daughter of the former Chief Minister, late ‘leader” K Karunakaran, the creator of the culture of groupism in the State Congress.
According to sources, former State Congress president and party legislator K Muraleedharan and PCC general secretary Padmaja Venugopal, son and daughter of Karunakaran, have started discussions with leaders who were loyal to their father when he was alive for constituting a new group. The plan is to reactivate the old ‘I’ group formed by Karunakaran.
Congress leaders who still remain loyal to Muraleedharan and Padmaja because of the love they had for the ‘leader’ (as Karunakaran used to be known among his followers) say the yet-to-be-formed faction will be the “real I group” in the Congress compared with the present ‘I’ group led by Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, who was a disciple of Karunakaran once.
Congress in Kerala is divided into several camps like the ‘A’ group led by former chief minister Oommen Chandy, Chennithala’s ‘I’ group to which Muraleedharan and Padmaja belong to presently, the “group of the groupless” headed by State party chief VM Sudheeran whose chief patron -in a sense-is Congress Working Committee member AK Antony.
Despite the enmity between them, the groups led by Chandy and Chennithala are united in opposing Sudheeran who, with the support of Antony, is fighting to end the culture of factionalism in the Congress. The party has some other groups as well but they are presently with Chennithala’s ‘I’ group.
The groundwork for the creation of yet another group in the party is taking place just when the party is struggling to stay alive and Antony is advising the faction leaders, especially Chandy, on the need of unity. “Do nothing that weakens the party. Remember, we are nothing if the party is not there,” Antony said the other day at a meeting of the extended PCC executive.
“The bid by Muraleedharan and Padmaja to form the ‘actual I group’ is happening at a crucial juncture as far as the State Congress is concerned. Many say that Chennithala has not been successful in safeguarding the interests of the ‘I’ group but they believe that Muraleedharan can do this,” said a leader based in Kozhikode who was a close aide of Karunakaran.
An interesting aspect of the new development is that Chandy’s ‘A’ group, rival of the ‘I’ group to which Muraleedharan belongs, is supporting the efforts for the formation of a new faction. The ‘A’ group had stood solidly behind Muraleedharan when he had stirred a hornets’ nest by indirectly accusing Chennithala, his own group leader, of being a failure as Opposition leader.
Muraleedharan, who had till recently limited his activities to the Vattiyurkavu constituency he is representing in the Assembly, has started expanding his domain of work as seen in the case of his criticism against Chennithala and observers say that this is a clear indication of his plan for forming a new group.
“There are many functionaries in the ‘I’ group who think that he will be a better group leader than Chennithala. Also, Chandy will be happy to help him because a new group will weaken his rival, Chennithala in the party,” said a senior Congress leader from Chennithala’s home district, Alappuzha.
Muraleedharan had left the Congress along with his father in 2005 following differences with the leadership – they were accused of even insulting Sonia Gandhi. He was re-inducted into the party in 2011 when Chennithala was the PCC. He had then given his word that he would not create problems anymore and that all he wanted was to get back into the party as an ordinary member.