Kerala: Sr leader Gopinath quits Congress over selection of DCC chiefs, infighting deepens

The Congress party is facing another jolt and this time in Kerala as senior leader A V Gopinath announced his resignation from the primary membership of the party on Monday. Amid infighting in Punjab and Chhattisgarh now the tussle has deepened in Kerala as well with the senior leader stating 'no progress' as the reason for his exit. Apart from the improvement issue of the party in Kerala, it is also reported that senior leadership rejected Gopinath's appointment to the post of District Congress Committee (DCC) chief as proposed by his supporters. 

It is pertinent to mention that Gopinath had raised his voice after he was denied a ticket in the Assembly polls held early this year but was mollified by senior party leaders including Oommen Chandy and K Sudhakaran. However, according to the latest PTI report, senior leaders Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, on Sunday openly expressed dissatisfaction over the selection of DCC chiefs by state leadership. Gopinath has also alleged the party of sidelining him even after having grassroots level support. 

Kerala Congress infighting

It all started after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Saturday evening published the list of 14 DCCs in the state. According to the senior leaders Chandy and Chennithala, no discussions were held before selecting the DCC chiefs however Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President K Sudhakaran rejected the claims. Supporting Sudhakaran, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan said the list of DCC chiefs was finalised after a discussion with all leaders, including Chandy and Chennithala. Reportedly, Gopinath's resignation came after senior leaders K Sivadasan Nair and K P Anilkumar were suspended from the Congress party for going public against the party.

KPCC President K Sudhakaran in a statement on Sunday informed that former MLA K Sivadasan Nair and former KPCC general secretary K P Anil Kumar were "temporarily suspended" from the party. "They both showed lack of discipline and made public statements through the media related to the reconstitution of DCCs," the statement said. Both the leaders had also made scathing criticism against the state leadership over the selection of District Congress Committee (DDC) chiefs.

(With PTI inputs)