A weak 'high command' playing spoilsport in Congress in Kerala?

Thiruvananthapuram, June 3 If anyone is asked what's the scourge of the Congress party in Kerala, the answer is a weak party high command trying to get the better of top Congress leaders in Kerala.

Comparisons are now being made in the manner in which the ruling CPI-M, first decided to keep out more than two dozen sitting legislators and even five top ranked State Ministers from contesting the April 6 polls.

And after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan successfully led the Left to a historic win bettering the 2016 performance, in one shot, decided not to include a single Minister, including the high flying State Health Minister K.K. Shailaja in his second outing, bringing in new faces from his party into the cabinet.

Close to 30 sitting legislators, which included some who had just one term besides five Ministers were not given a seat to contest, the Congress could only keep out just one and that too because K.C. Joseph was turning 75 and had won eight successive victories and a section of the party is trying their best to get him the state party president's post.

A media critic on condition of anonymity said, can anyone ever believe the way the Left handled its candidature and Ministers can ever happen in the Congress party?

"Just look the way Vijayan finalised his cabinet and compare the way the Congress took so long to find an opposition leader in the assembly. And now look, the way the party just cannot find a new party state president. The grand old party has become a subject of ridicule and what they fail to understand is, people are observing everything. Just see, was there even a whimper of protest from any quarter when Vijayan conducted massive changes?" said the critic.

"Also just see the way Rahul Gandhi, is behaving. On the one hand he is unwilling to take up the post of national president of the party and on the other hand, everyone knows, it's his call, which decides the affairs of the party and his antipathy towards veteran seasoned top leaders like Oommen Chandy and others, has now become clear, as the party high command does not take the views of such leaders seriously," added the critic.

Incidentally, just the other day, the Kerala Assembly was a witness to this when big mouthed, senior CPI-M legislator and former State Minister M.M. Mani went hammer and tongs on the party high command and ridiculed the present situation of the party.

The latest news that has now surfaced about the new president of the state unit is AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala, Tariq Anwar is expected to arrive in the state soon to discuss about it as at the moment there are quite a number of hopefuls which includes present Lok Sabha members K. Sudhakaran, Kodikunnnil Suresh, Benny Behanan and legislators P.T. Thomas.

Expressing his displeasure was Chandy when asked about it, "the party high command has not asked me anything about who should be the new president and if they ask me, I will tell my choice".

So all eyes are on who will be the new president and equally watched would be the reaction to the new appointment, as the Congress party in Kerala, just cannot remain a disciplined one.

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