Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran Congress leader Vayalar Ravi has now joined the clamour for Oommen Chandy as the KPCC chief. He said the former chief minister was the most suitable person to lead the party. Despite Mr Chandy reiterating that he was not interested in holding the post, A camp is batting for him, and Mr Ravi's remarks are seen as part of it. He told reporters here he would not suggest anybody to the post. “Caste and religious factors cannot be overlooked in this. That is a reality,” he said.
Mr Ravi also attacked senior leader Mani Shankar Aiyar who suggested an election for the AICC president. “He is a person who forced his way into the Congress party from bureaucracy one fine morning. People who talk like this are those who don’t know the Congress style of functioning,” he said. Meanwhile, both the ‘A’ and ‘I’ camps are following a wait and watch policy. With Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi in the US, they are waiting with bated breath.
Sources at the AICC say the two are expected back in New Delhi by later next week. “KPCC president post will lie with ‘A’ camp and under no circumstances will we allow our rivals to snatch it away. Mr Chandy's biggest advantage is that he's undisputed. We are confident that the AICC will not turn elsewhere,” said a top leader loyal to him. The ‘A’ expect a bounce back after last year's poll debacle while the rivals led by Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala want to prevent it.
