Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi during a meeting with party leaders from Kerala at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday. | Photo credit:-
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has reportedly issued an ultimatum to the Congress leadership in Kerala to end factional polarity, present a united front and convey a sense of political purpose in a crucial election year.
The AICC on Tuesday summoned the state leadership to Delhi for a closed-door marathon and face-to-face meeting with the national leadership comprising AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal.
The summit assumed organizational significance amid public expressions of opposition to the reshuffles of the Youth Congress and the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), with some influential social organizations embroiled in intra-party discord, worrying the party.
Former KPCC president K. Sudhakaran, an MP who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the conclave, suggested that central to the proceedings at the summit was the alleged unity of leaders vying to secure their loyalists in key organizational positions and possibly on the party ticket.
Mr. Sudhakaran claimed that he, among other leaders, did nothing of the self-defeating and cult of personality informed schism in the party leadership. “We are in deep water if we don’t broadcast unity in a crucial election year,” he said.
Later, Mr. Kharge told reporters that Mr. Sudhakaran had raised “some issues that I don’t want to dwell on publicly.”
Out of power for two consecutive terms, local polls and parliamentary elections in 2026 are crucial to the political survival of the Congress-led opposition United Democratic Front (UDF).
A Congress insider said Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan and KPCC President Sunny Joseph presented a blueprint for the UDF’s victory. This reportedly included the creation of booth committees in each local body corps, the conduct of cyclical door-knocking and election campaigns, and a hate-free candidate selection process that took into account caste, religious and age demographics.
The plan also reportedly emphasized the need to register new voters and involve a range of community organizations.
The Congress campaign for local bodies, which is said to begin on November 1, will focus on bread and butter livelihood issues along with other state and national issues.
Published – 28 Oct 2025 21:25 IST
