Youth Cong angst at Vadakkan gets nipped
It would be unusual for any party to make a mess of its election prospects in a constituency even before the candidates are announced, but the Congress seems to be doing just that in Thrissur.
By Joe A Scaria, ET Bureau |
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It would be unusual for any party to make a mess of its election prospects in a constituency even before the candidates are announced, but the Congress seems to be doing just that in Thrissur.
The issue has all to do with AICC general secretary Tom Vadakkan, who has said he would contest in Kashmir or Kerala according to the party���s directives, but seems to have run into a huge opposition from his party colleagues in Thrissur.
Thrissur DCC president C N Balakrishnan and former minister and Congress leader K P Vishwanthan were among the early opponents of the idea of Vadakkan competing from Thrissur. Other Congressmen have said they were against any candidate imposed from Delhi.
The hostility to Vadakkan���s candidature has since snowballed and in the latest episode today, a group of Youth Congress activists held a press conference to announce that Vadakkan stood no chance in Thrissur.
Commenting on the church���s blessings for Vadakkan, the Youth Congressmen said it ought to be remembered that Christians were not the only community in the constituency and that other communities mattered equally.
For his outburst against Vadakkan, Youth Congress leader Gopu Prathapan was reportedly given a 6-year suspension from the party. KPCC officials here said they could not confirm the suspension order, adding they themselves had not issued any suspension notice to him.
The series of criticism against Vadakkan coming from within the Congress in the Thrissur constituency is considered to have put the Congress on the backfoot even before the contest has begun.
In the 2004 Lok Sabha poll, CPI���s C K Chandrappan had defeated Congressman A C Jose by nearly 46,000 votes.
The issue has all to do with AICC general secretary Tom Vadakkan, who has said he would contest in Kashmir or Kerala according to the party���s directives, but seems to have run into a huge opposition from his party colleagues in Thrissur.
Thrissur DCC president C N Balakrishnan and former minister and Congress leader K P Vishwanthan were among the early opponents of the idea of Vadakkan competing from Thrissur. Other Congressmen have said they were against any candidate imposed from Delhi.
The hostility to Vadakkan���s candidature has since snowballed and in the latest episode today, a group of Youth Congress activists held a press conference to announce that Vadakkan stood no chance in Thrissur.
Commenting on the church���s blessings for Vadakkan, the Youth Congressmen said it ought to be remembered that Christians were not the only community in the constituency and that other communities mattered equally.
For his outburst against Vadakkan, Youth Congress leader Gopu Prathapan was reportedly given a 6-year suspension from the party. KPCC officials here said they could not confirm the suspension order, adding they themselves had not issued any suspension notice to him.
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The series of criticism against Vadakkan coming from within the Congress in the Thrissur constituency is considered to have put the Congress on the backfoot even before the contest has begun.
In the 2004 Lok Sabha poll, CPI���s C K Chandrappan had defeated Congressman A C Jose by nearly 46,000 votes.
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