The Indian National Congress (INC) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have started initiating stringent disciplinary actions against those who challenged their leadership and emerged as rebel candidates to contest the elections in various local bodies. Those who stood by such candidates defying official decisions are also likely to be suspended.
In Kodiyathur grama panchayat alone, five local leaders of the INC have been suspended from the primary membership. The District Congress Committee is seemingly quick in action against those who refused to cooperate with conciliatory talks and hesitated to withdraw nomination papers on time.
The IUML district leadership is also in action mode against ‘disloyal’ rebel candidates who were not ready to accept the official list of candidates declared by the United Democratic Front. Till date, about 10 persons, including some of the panchayat-level leaders and youth organisation office-bearers, have been suspended. “Though the rebel challenge is comparatively less in this election, we are moving very strictly against the dissenters. The rebels in Kayakkodi and Omassery panchayats are now out of the party,” said IUML district general secretary M.A. Razak. He also said more such persons who opposed the district leadership in Kunnamangalam panchayat would be suspended in the coming days.
UDF leaders feel that stringent action against rebels by its allies will send a strong message to workers at the grass-roots level and help them take on rivals in the fray. The entry of rebels challenging the official leadership was even a campaign thread for many opponents which had even troubled official candidates, they pointed out.
As usual, youth organisations of the INC and the IUML are not happy over the percentage of seats allotted to them in the local body elections. It has also doused their spirits to actively participate in election campaigns. For the Muslim Youth League, no candidates are there to represent city corporation and district panchayat divisions. However, they hope to get a reasonable representation in the upcoming Assembly elections.
