THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP leaders here feel that the central leadership will not hastily announce the new state president. With V. Muraleedharan faction lobbying for K. Surendran, the rival faction led by P. K. Krishnadas has demanded proper deliberations before deciding on Kummanam’s successor. Currently, they are leaderless as the central leadership is yet to appoint the new leader or hand over the charge to a deputy. Ever since Mr Rajasekharan was designated as the Governor of Mizoram, a section was lobbying for Mr Surendran, their 48-year-old general secretary.
The rivals say he had the backing of his mentor, V. Muraleedharan MP, and B.L. Santhosh, the national joint general secretary (organisation). Mr Krishnadas had on Monday visited national general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal in New Delhi apprising him of the displeasure on the propaganda projecting Mr Surendran as the next president. “The Krishnadas faction said they couldn’t back Mr Surendran. He does not have the backing of the RSS,” a senior BJP leader said.
He also added that the central leadership would be seeking the views of the state RSS leadership as Lok Sabha elections are around the corner. Hence they feel that national president Amit Shah will not be in haste. The Krishnadas faction is keen to see a formidable leader leading the party’s groundwork towards the general elections. Apart from Mr Surendran, other hopefuls include general secretary M. T. Ramesh, former editor of RSS mouthpiece ‘Organiser’ R. Balasankar, former national organising secretary of Vigyan Bharathi A. Jayakumar and national convener of Prajna Pravah J. Nandakumar.
