THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When Congress party workers were hopeful of ending the stalemate on the KPCC revamping by the AICC’s central election committee chairman Mullapally Ramachandran, it has become all the more complex. Mullapally is in a quandary as to whether he has to listen to the Congress MP’s from Kerala or the demands put forth by the trio – Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC president M. M. Hassan and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Contrary to earlier reports, Sunday turned out to be a day without many meetings for Mullapally in New Delhi. While the MP’s had demanded that the list prepared by the respective group managers have to be altered, the three senior leaders are not ready for it. Reports from New Delhi reveal that Chennithala is keen on making amendments in the final list of the 282 members for governing council of the KPCC, Chandy is firm against it which has been conveyed by Hassan to Mullapally on Saturday.
Chandy had not gone to New Delhi to hold talks with Mullapally while the other two senior leaders were there. Now the irony is that while scores of Congress leaders from across the country made a beeline to AICC headquarters in New Delhi to meet Mullapally, he is in a catch 22 situation as to how to end the stalemate in his home State. “Mullappally has become a laughing stock as he is unable to sort out the differences of opinion raised by the top brass of the KPCC leadership and the MP’s demands on the committee list from his home state. The grievances coming from the other states are too trivial which Mullappally can sort out”, said a Congress leader.
Majority of the Congress leaders in the state who are watching the process is not surprised the way in which the KPCC leadership had been acting. A Congress MLA told DC that ever since veteran leaders like K. Karunakaran and A. K. Antony had moved way to Chennithala – Chandy, they are never ready to compromise in the larger interests of the party. “Now the ball is in the court of Mullappally on how to move forth to end the stalemate. He will be holding talks with AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi and will have to take a call on what to do further on whose words have to be taken seriously, be it that of the MPs or the KPCC leadership”, said a Congress MLA.
