Knee-jerk reaction will not help the Congress and the election outcome needs to be evaluated thoroughly, and weaknesses identified, party State working president K.V. Thomas has said.
Those in the Congress clamouring for the ouster of a few leaders in the aftermath of the poll debacle were attempting to reap personal benefits out of the crisis, he added.
“Certain organisational formalities have to be followed and one needs to wait for the process to be over instead of quickly putting the blame on some individuals,” said Mr. Thomas, referring to the demand for the replacement of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and the Leader of Opposition. Incidentally, the social media pages of party workers and followers are abuzz with demands for a leadership change.
Replacing KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran with K. Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala with V.D. Satheesan, as suggested by some quarters, will not solve the problems of the Congress, he said.
The KPCC leadership, said Mr. Thomas, alone cannot be blamed for the disastrous poll outcome as the AICC leadership was also involved in candidate selection. The party high command too had played a crucial role in the selection, he said.
Intense factional feuds and organisational weakness of the Congress, combined with the strongman image of the Chief Minister and the manner in which the State government tided over two natural disasters and the pandemic left a good impression in people’s minds. Social benefit schemes such as enhanced pension and its timely disbursal, and distribution of food kits to people during crisis situations made people think favourably of the LDF, he said.
Moreover, the BJP shifted a major portion of its votes to the LDF to weaken the Congress with an eye on the next Parliament election in 2024. The party needs to be reorganised at various levels and the changes shall not be limited to those heading the organisation and the legislative party. The days of intense group rivalry are over and the party needs to be revitalised at all levels for it to stage a comeback, he said.
