Congress leaders have a history of pulling each other down in pursuit of personal ambitions. The factional feud has resurfaced, with Adoor Prakash accusing Chief Minister V.D. Satheeshan of taking decisions without consulting UDF constituents, while Congress leader and Minister for Health & Devaswoms, Muraleedharan suggested on October 19 that a ‘person behind the curtain’ was orchestrating the criticism against the Chief Minister.
Political observers believe Muraleedharan was indirectly referring to Congress Organisation General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, who is seen as a key player in the party’s internal power struggle.
Muraleedharan said that if someone was repeatedly levelling allegations against Satheeshan, there must be somebody ‘behind the curtain’. He declined to identify the person, saying that he did not wish to name anyone.
Responding to Congress MP K. Sudhakaran’s question about whether the government was being run by ‘men’, Muraleedharan replied firmly that the claim could be tested, if necessary.
On October 1, Adoor Prakash had criticised CM Satheeshan over the lack of consultation within the United Democratic Front (UDF), the Congress-led ruling coalition. He said several important decisions were being taken without informing the leaders of the constituent parties.
Prakash also highlighted dissatisfaction among UDF workers over the delay in replacing people appointed during the previous CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government and filling chairperson posts in boards and corporations.
He criticised CM Satheeshan over the recent cabinet-rank appointment of Indian Union Muslim League leader M.K. Muneer and the appointment of Forward Bloc leader G. Devarajan as chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission and the state government’s Special Representative in Delhi, respectively.
Prakash said these appointments had been made without consulting him, despite his position as UDF convener.
The UDF convener also complained that UDF committee meetings were not being held regularly. He attributed this to CM Satheeshan, who is also the front’s chairman, and said he would convey his dissatisfaction to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leadership.
Political observers believe that, although Adoor Prakash does not belong to the K.C. Venugopal faction, his position aligns with Venugopal’s interests in the internal power struggle against Satheeshan. According to these observers, both leaders seek to create the impression that Satheeshan has failed to meet public expectations.
K. Sudhakaran, meanwhile, is reportedly still unhappy over being denied permission to contest the Assembly elections. He had reportedly aspired to become Chief Minister.
The positions taken by Prakash and Sudhakaran have been interpreted by political observers as an indirect call to ‘Bring KC, Save Congress’.
The Satheeshan camp has alleged that Venugopal is behind both leaders. Venugopal, however, has described Prakash’s views as his personal opinion and asked others not to drag his name into the controversy.
Meanwhile, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph, who is also the Electricity Minister, asked party leaders on October 19 to refrain from issuing public statements.
He said the instruction applied to all party members and explained that some leaders had crossed the limits, prompting his intervention.
Joseph also defended the CM Satheeshan government, stating that it was not attempting to hush up the case and had taken practical decisions.
However, some Congress leaders have accused the Satheeshan government of helping Pinarayi Vijayan in connection with the CMRL–Exalogic case.
They have argued that the CPI(M) had treated veteran Congress leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy harshly during the Solar scam controversy, levelling what they described as false allegations against him.
They maintain that Congress workers cannot forget the treatment meted out to Chandy and question the party’s current approach towards the CPI(M)-led government.
