Thiruvananthapuram: The relations between Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala and Congress MLA K. Muraleedharan are at a low ebb which is clear from the fact that Mr Chennithala has sidelined him during his Padayorukkam rally. When it reached Thiruvananthapuram district on November 29 - 30, Mr Muraleedharan was absent.
The liaison committee of Padayorukkam had invited him to attend public programmes at Malappuram and Ernakulam, but he did not turn up for a programme in Kozhikode. Mr Muraleedharan has been forthright in criticising the BJP and the CPM but Mr Chennithala wanted his loyalist K. Sudhakaran to take charge of 80 percent of the public programmes. “Sudhakaran attacks the CPM but not the BJP,” said a source close to Mr Muraleedharan.
Ramesh Chennithala
Other prominent Congress leaders who attended the programmes coinciding with Padayorukkam included former KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran, KPCC president M. M. Hassan, former chief minister Oommen Chandy, MPs K. C. Venugopal and K. V. Thomas and AICC leaders.
“Chennithala and Muraleedharan do not see eye-to-eye, though openly they keep an air of friendship. It was unfair that Muraleedharan was sidelined during Padayorukkam,” said a senior Congress leader. Mr Muraleedharan had showed his potential for leadership during the Law Academy strike early this year.
Their relationships had strained when Mr Chennithala was chosen as the Opposition Leader and Mr Muraleedharan had stayed away from the Congress Legislative Party meeting for a few hours when AICC leaders were present. Later, Mr Muraleedharan cozied up to Oommen Chandy’s ‘A’ group which did not go down well with the Chennithala camp.
