Kochi mayor row: Congress leaders express differing opinions

Senior Congress leaders in Kerala have expressed differing views over the selection of mayoral candidates in the Kochi Corporation.

While All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala urged KPCC general secretary and two-time councillor to “fall in line” with the party’s decision regarding the choice of mayoral candidates, Ajay Tharayil and MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan criticised the manner in which she was allegedly overlooked.

Mr. Venugopal said Ms. Varghese could not be faulted for aspiring to the post of mayor and for being “naturally disappointed at being overlooked”, given her credentials dating back to her Kerala Students Union (KSU) days in college. He, however, stressed that she should ultimately comply with the party’s decision.

“People of Kerala desire change and they want the Congress to make compromises towards that end. Party decisions should be final, and shortcomings, if any, will be discussed in appropriate party forums,” Mr. Venugopal said.

Asked whether pressure from a particular community influenced the choice of candidates, he said the Congress, “takes into account the opinions of all communities, but ultimately makes decisions suited to the times.”

Incidentally, Ms. Varghese is identified with Mr. Venugopal’s faction within the party, and the faction’s lack of sufficient backing among elected Congress councillors was perceived as one of the reasons for her being overlooked.

Mr. Chennithala also urged Ms. Varghese to respect the party’s decision, adding that no factional dynamics were at play behind it.

Tharayil alleges ‘agenda’

Mr. Tharayil alleged “an agenda” behind excluding Ms. Varghese from the mayor’s post, though he did not specify who was responsible. He accused “group dynamics within the party” of coming to the fore in the Kochi Corporation.

“While it was not announced explicitly, there was a silent understanding that Deepthi was the UDF’s mayoral candidate. However, that was sabotaged for the sake of groups and their opportunism, by taking a unilateral decision without convening the core committee. While presidents and chairpersons in grama panchayats, block panchayats, and municipalities were decided through consultations, in the Corporation alone this was violated due to excessive group play, which is unacceptable,” Mr. Tharayil said.

He further alleged that efforts were made to “influence” councillors on the eve of the mayoral candidate announcement. He argued that a neutral KPCC observer or a ballot system should have been used to elicit councillors’ opinions.

However, he added that Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan was “unlikely to have played any role” in the developments.

Mr. Kuzhalnadan said that citing majority support among elected representatives as the basis for selecting mayoral candidates could not be contested as a democratic principle when multiple names are in contention. “However, if such a norm is being set, it should be applied uniformly at all levels, since there cannot be different criteria for different situations,” he said.