Thiruvananthapuram: Individual reports outlining the reasons for the poll debacle senior leaders have sent to the party high command have evoked mixed response in Kerala. The letters have also created discontent and mistrust as their apparent drift became public.
In an emotional letter sent to party supremo Sonia Gandhi after V D Satheesan’s selection as the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala purportedly said he had been slighted several times.
Detailing, former opposition leader Chennithala apparently mentioned the appointment of senior leader and former chief minister Oommen Chandy as the head of the Congress Supervisory Committee as one of the insults meted out to him.
Chandy’s appointment, reports quoting Chennithala’s letter said, created confusion about the chief ministerial candidate among the voters. The confusion cost the UDF majority votes, the letter purportedly said.
Sources close to the former opposition leader, however, refuted the reports. Chandy had supported Chennithala’s continuation as the opposition leader, creating an impression that both the leaders were on the same page.
Chandy explained his role as the head of the supervisory committee, though he expressed doubt over the veracity of reports on the contents of Chennithala’s letter. It was clarified much earlier that the committee would not have any political importance, and the panel’s task was confined only to the polls, he said.
The former chief minister added that the All India Congress Committee had selected the new opposition leader and if any of the UDF ally has any complaint regarding the selection, Congress would examine it, and initiate appropriate action to clarify its misunderstanding.
Taking an apparent dig at the contents of the letters becoming public, Chandy said the media would not know if he had sent a letter to Sonia Gandhi. It was learnt that Chennithala and Chandy spoke over the phone to clear any misunderstanding.
KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran’s letter courted controversy after he had reportedly mentioned that the groups opposed to each other were reined in during his stint at the helm. The mention, however, did not go down well with the ‘I’ and ‘A’ groups.
Ramachandran later denied writing a fresh letter. He said he had only submitted a report on the defeat at the Assembly polls.