Oommen Chandy expects a solution to be found after the leadership meetings on Monday and Tuesday.Thiruvananthapuram: The protest in the state unit of Congress over the party's decision to 'gift' a Rajya Sabha seat to Kerala Congress (M) has snowballed into a revolt, forcing party chief Rahul Gandhi to intervene in the issue. As the young leaders in Congress fumed over the move, Rahul has sought an explanation from Mukul Wasnik, AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala.
Green to red carpet
Congress leader Shanimol Usman had approached Rahul Gandhi with a complaint as soon as the Kerala Congress (M) nominated Jose K Mani for the Rajya Sabha poll. She told Rahul it was a grave mistake to have conceded the seat without considering popular sentiments.
Taking a jibe at the move, KS Sabarinadhan MLA posted on Facebook that the UDF would be strengthened when the nominee migrates from the green-carpeted Lok Sabha to the red-carpeted Rajya Sabha.
Joseph Vazhakkan demanded that the Janadhipathya Kerala Congress should also be brought back to the UDF, pointing out that their influence in Idukki and Kottayam districts was crucial.
Early on Saturday, coffins were spotted outside the Congress district office in Ernakulam with pictures of Chandy and Chennithala on it after they wilfully succumbed to Mani's 'pressure' and gifted the Rajya Sabha seat to KC(M).
However, Chandy refuted allegations by the youngsters and said Jose K Mani was the best candidate for the RS poll.
KPCC downplays protest
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president M M Hassan said the protest over the decision was natural in a democratic party, but cautioned that it should not cross limits.
He said the party leadership also understood the workers' sentiments and their pain over the decision.
"We are also pained by the decision... but it was taken with a view to strengthen the party-led UDF and democratic forces to take on the BJP and the LDF in the state," Hassan said.
The Congress party would issue a whip asking its MLAs to vote for Jose K Mani, the RS candidate of the K M Mani-led KC(M).
However, the KPCC chief admitted that the KC(M) insisted on the seat as a condition for its re-entry into the UDF fold.
Meanwhile, rumblings in the party over the RS seat continued with former KPCC president V M Sudheeran saying that party workers felt that they were being cheated.
The senior leader also alleged that the decision lacked transparency.
Mediation challenge
The challenge before the national leadership now is how to douse the revolt in the Kerala unit. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and Oommen Chandy expect a solution to be found after the leadership meetings on Monday and Tuesday. However, it is not easy to pacify leaders like V M Sudheeran, who have been on a virtual war path, claiming that the move has weakened Congress.
The main allegation aired in Congress circles was that the Rajya Sabha seat was sacrificed to protect Jose K Mani's future.
The KC(M) on Friday announced its decision to return to the UDF fold after the Congress decided to support its candidate for the Rajya Sabha election.
The seat is currently held by Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurien of the Congress who will retire on July 1. Jose K Mani will be the KC(M)'s candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll.
The KC(M) had walked out of the Congress-led UDF in August 2016, ending over three-decade-long association alleging it was being 'insulted' by the party leading the alliance.
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