Rahul Gandhi holds informal talks with party leaders in Wayanad

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who is also the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, arrived in Wayanad district on Friday morning.

Mr. Gandhi informally held a meeting with All India Congress Committee general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph. However, party sources said the Congress high command sought to quell local factionalism and resolve the issues that have plunged the Wayanad District Congress Committee (DCC) into a crisis.

Although his visit was ostensibly private, sources indicated that Mr. Gandhi conveyed that the central leadership was not only cognisant of the escalating infighting but remained committed to achieving a decisive resolution.

The party leadership also wanted the KPCC to gear up for the coming local body elections and the Assembly elections next year.

Incidentally, Mr. Gandhi’s visit coincides with the ongoing tour of the Wayanad constituency by AICC general secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The deaths of local leaders, including former DCC treasurer N.M. Vijayan and his son, following financial allegations, and recently a grama panchayat member Jose Nelledam besides the suicide bid of Vijayan’s daughter-in-law Padmaja Vijesh, had overshadowed Ms. Vadra’s outreach programme. The incidents had compelled her to seek an explanation from local party functionaries.

In a separate development, at a meeting convened by Mr. Venugopal and Mr. Joseph with office-bearers of the DCC, it was decided to settle a portion of the financial debts of Vijayan. The move is seen as a direct response to the family’s public accusations of being abandoned by the party, a narrative that has been exploited by the Opposition.

A change in the district leadership was also mooted to restore stability and morale of the rank and file. The leadership of DCC president N.D. Appachan has been under severe strain from the faction led by Sulthan Bathery legislator I.C. Balakrishnan, the sources said.

Adding to the woes, the local unit had faced public criticism for its handling of the rehabilitation of landslides survivors, particularly for its failure to finalise land for their resettlement.

Mr. Gandhi and his mother are expected to remain in the constituency until September 21 when Ms. Vadra’s tour of her constituency ends.