KPCC chief Sudhakaran, Oppn leader Satheesan to meet Kharge, Rahul in Delhi

New Delhi: The national leadership of the Congress will be apprised of the latest developments in its Kerala unit in the aftermath of the arrest of State chief K Sudhakaran in a cheating case.

Sudhakaran and V D Satheesan — the duo at the helm of the party in Kerala — are leaving for Delhi today and will call on All-India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi.

During the meetings with Kharge and Rahul, the two state leaders would be explaining the situation which led to the arrest of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president.

They are likely to assert that the state government had acted against the KPCC chief in order to divert public attention from the various allegations it was facing.

Sudhakaran and Satheesan, who is the Opposition Leader, would also present their version of the Vigilance inquiry against the latter before the high command.

Sudhakaran had earlier expressed his desire to quit his post following his arrest by the Crime Branch over the cheating case involving fake antiques dealer Monson Mavunkal. (He was subsequently let off on bail.) However, he changed his mind when the state leaders united behind him and opposed the move to quit. However, it would be keenly observed whether he takes up the issue of his resignation during the meeting with the high command.

Even though several issues, apart from Sudhakaran’s arrest, have been haunting the Kerala unit of the party for some time, their trip to Delhi was delayed as Rahul was abroad.

Incidentally, the two state leaders had initially planned the Delhi visit after the prominent groups in the party had taken a stand against them regarding the appointment of block presidents.

Youth Congress election

Yet another issue which would be discussed at the Delhi meetings relate to the upcoming elections in the state unit of the Youth Congress. Though widespread group-level meetings are taking place in Kerala in view of the polls, the two Congress leaders are unlikely to seek postponement of the exercise, according to some party leaders.

The membership distribution and voting are scheduled to start on June 28.

The main contest is between Rahul Mankoottathil of the ‘A’ group and Abin Varkey Kodiyatt of the ‘I’ group. In addition, 12 others have submitted nominations for the president’s post. They are O J Janeesh, Vishnu Sunil, K A Abidali, S T Aneesh, T Anutaj, Aritha Babu, V P Dulquifil, Jas Nalin Pothen, S J Premraj, V K Shibna, S Vaisakh Darshan and Veena S Nair.

The candidate who receives the highest number of votes will become the president and the next eight contestants, vice-presidents.