THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite Dipak Babaria, AICC secretary in charge of the state, urging his senior leaders in the AICC leadership to bring a fresh face as the Opposition Leader, KPCC leadership managed to maintain their supremacy yet again. Still Congress leaders seem impressed by Mr. Babaria saying this was the first time an AICC leader showed the courage to come out and protect the interests of the party in its true genuine sense.
Mr Babaria’s call had not gone down well with the three senior leaders of the party - former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran and Opposition leader designate Ramesh Chennithala. The other two observers, former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit and Mukul Wasnik, AICC general secretary in charge of the state rallied for Chennithala as the Opposition leader in cue with the majority of the CLP leaders call.
“Despite the three leaders proclaiming that they are solely responsible for the poll debacle, except Oommen Chandy, the other two senior KPCC leaders took scant regard of Dipak Babaria's call. The three senior leaders have yet again protected their ‘seats’ much to the displeasure of scores of Congress supporters and has given scant regard to his recommendations”, said a peeved Congress leader to DC.
Congress leaders cutting across factions vouch that this is the first time an AICC secretary took the pains to strengthen the party by travelling across the length and breadth of the state several times ever since he was appointed in 2012. Prior to that only AICC general secretaries like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, Mohsina Kidwai and Madhusudan Mistry and Mukul Wasnik had worked in Kerala .
63-year-old Dipak Babaria is a rank holder in Chemical Engineering from Gujarat University who got admission to do his MS in Stanford University, US. But his late father, Ratilal Babaria, a freedom fighter urged him to fight for Nav Nirman Andolan, a socio-political movement in 1974 in Gujarat. He gradually climbed from being a member of grievance cell of Gujarat Youth Congress to Gujarat PCC general secretary when Rahul Gandhi picked him in to his core team in 2012.
