As G23 blames Rahul, Kerala Congress leaders target Venugopal for Assembly polls debacle

Venugopal hails from Kannur which is also the home district of state party president K. Sudhakaran

A file photo of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (L) with K C Venugopal. Credit: DH Photo

Repercussions of the setback suffered by Congress in five states was reflected in Kerala too with posters against AICC general secretary KC Venugopal appearing in the state and social media campaigns against top leaders.

The fresh developments come amidst resentment among many Congress leaders in Kerala over the alleged interventions of Venugopal in state politics by trying to induct his loyalists in party committees.

Posters under the banner 'Save the Congress' accusing Venugopal of the defeat in five states appeared at Indira Bhavan at Sreekandapuram in Kannur district. Social media campaigns targeting Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Venugopal also came up.

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Kerala PCC president K Sudhakaran issued a statement warning party workers from indulging in campaigns targeting party leaders.

Venugopal was said to be influencing the party national leadership in revamping the state leadership without much consultations at the state level, especially with regard to removal of Mullapally Ramachandran and Ramesh Chennithala from Kerala PCC president post and opposition leader post respectively following the party's defeat in the Assembly elections last year.

Recently a section of MPs from Kerala complained to the party national leadership that they were not being consulted by the state leadership in nominating members to party committees. This was also alleged to be at the behest of Venugopal to ensure that his loyalists were included in the party.

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For these reasons, many Congress leaders from Kerala would be also eager to see Venugopal's exit from key posts in the AICC.

There are also concerns in Congress camps in Kerala that the weakening of the Congress at the national level may even tend some of the coalition parties of the Congress in Kerala to explore options of joining the CPM-led Left Democratic Front. After the back to back defeat of Congress in two consecutive Assembly elections in Kerala, there were reports that some parties like the Indian Union Muslim League were weighing the options of joining the left-front, even as the party leaders were yet to accept it.

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