Congress leaders in Kerala back Rahul Gandhi for president

Senior Congress leader and former Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala told the media in Alappuzha that the general feeling of the party in Kerala is that Rahul Gandhi, also the MP from Wayanad in northern Kerala, should become the president. “The state unit of the party has not suggested any candidate. The massive turnout of the people and the party workers during the Bharat Jodo Yatra demonstrates the support for Rahul. It is up to Tharoor to speak out whether he is contesting to become the party national president,’’ said Chennithala. Earlier, the Congress units in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat had passed resolutions to make Rahul the party chief.

Congress MP and former state unit president K Muraleedharan also echoed the same view. “Whoever contests to the post of the party president, only a person with the support of the Nehru family would become the president. Our vote is for Rahul. See the crowd at the Bharat Jodo Yatra. If someone else was taking out this yatra, there would not have been this much crowd,’’ said Muraleedharan, son of former chief minister K Karunakaran.

Since Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Kerala over a week ago, he has been getting rousing reception at all centres. Senior party leaders in Kerala are regularly accompanying him, expressing solidarity with the leader and the yatra.

Rahul is unlikely to face any opposition in Kerala given the support he enjoys among Kerala leaders. Rahul’s close confidant and All India Congress Committee general secretary K C Venugopal has a critical say on the party matters in the state.

Last week, the KPCC held a meeting to select the party state president. A resolution was moved in favour of incumbent Sudhakaran, assigning the final decision to party national president Sonia Gandhi.

On the other hand, the dissenting G-23 leaders have not found much support in Kerala. Apart from Tharoor, former Rajya Sabha member P J Kurien, who has not been active of late, is another Congress leader part of the G-23. Another veteran K V Thomas, who had raised a rebellion against Rahul, has been totally side-lined after he backed the CPI(M) in a by-election to the state Legislative  Assembly held in May this year.