Groupism ending in Congress: Chennithala

Thiruvananthapuram: The newly elected Congress Legislature Party Leader in Kerala Ramesh Chennithala Monday said the period of groupism and infighting in the party is coming to an end.

He said former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's decision to back out from the post of CLP leader and to propose his name was the indication of the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Congress party in the state.

"Chandy's decision was an unprecedented one. This indicates that the period of groupism and infighting in the party is coming to end and the opening of a new chapter," Chennithala told during a meet-the-press programme at the Press Club here.

Chennithala said he would draw inspiration from the model shown by Chandy and would lead the Congress and UDF in a more constructive way.

As the party had met with such a huge drubbing in the May 16 assembly polls and became opposition both at the state as well as in the Centre, there was no relevance for groupism in the party, Chennithala, also the former Home Minister, said.

Asked whether the Chandy era had come to an end in the Congress politics of the state, he said the former Chief Minister would always remain as the prominent leader of the party.

"We both will work unitedly to take the party to its past glory," he said.

The leader also dismissed the argument that there would be two power centres in the party - one under him and the other under Chandy in the wake of his new appointment.

"As a constructive opposition, we will appreciate the people friendly measures of the LDF government and oppose their wrong doings. We will not have any cooperation with the lone BJP member and the one independent in the assembly," he said.

Veteran BJP leader O Rajagopal, who defeated CPI(M) sitting MLA V Sivankutty at the Nemom constituency in the May 16 polls, is the first ever BJP member in the history of the state assembly.

Former government chief whip P C George, who won as independent, defeating all the three prominent parties from Poonjar, is the independent member in the House.

On the defeat of UDF in the assembly election, he said the preliminary analysis showed that both LDF and BJP had indulged in communal polarisation.