Pathanamthitta: K Surendran, the newly appointed president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala, has dismissed rumours about factional feud and said that he was honoured to lead the party in the state.
When the BJP national leadership made the announcement on Saturday, Surendran was with his mentor, Union Minister V Muraleedharan, at Thiruvalla.
Both of them took part in a public meet of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) at Ranni. They also had lunch at the house of SNDP taluk union chairman P R Ajayakumar.
Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) president Thushar Vellappally cut a heart-shaped red cake. Muraleedharan asked if this was a Valentine's Day special, but Surendran quipped that the visuals would be taken up by the TV channels for their comedy programmes.
Amid the celebratory mood, the young leader is aware of the uphill tasks ahead. Surendran talks to Manorama about his new role and his immediate priorities.
Excerpts from the interview:
The decision comes at the end of a three-month wait. Do you think the announcement was delayed?
No. Only after (former Kerala BJP president) P S Sreedharan Pillai was appointed as the Mizoram Governor, the schedule for the organisational poll came. And the decision was announced after the Delhi poll results.
What about the groups within the party?
There are no groups in Kerala, just one core group (of the party). One individual alone cannot lead the party.
What is your first task?
Preparations for the local polls should be started soon. Each party worker would be given responsibilities. The action plan for the next Assembly polls would be presented after holding discussions with the central leadership. A decision will be made on the Kuttanad bypoll also after holding talks with everyone.
What about the coming days?
The Left and other fronts have been spreading several wrong notions about the Citizenship Amendment Act. This has caused apprehensions in one particular community. First, we will take efforts to clear the misunderstanding. The current agitations have only helped the terrorists to form a base in Kerala.
Any new agitation?
The report about Kerala Police's missing bullets and guns should not be treated lightly. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has already found that ties have been forged with companies that are under a cloud of suspicion even in foreign countries. We have already started agitation on this issue.
Such a scam would not take place without the knowledge of the Chief Minister. This has been prevalent right from the days of the (previous) United Democratic Front. Not just the DGP is behind all this, but the Chief Minister's Office is in the forefront.
When will the announcements on four district presidents and the state committee be made?
The announcement on district presidents is getting delayed not due to the factional feud, but due to some criteria. The organisational rejig would be completed soon. ( Last month BJP had named new presidents for 10 districts of Kerala. The announcement regarding chief of four districts is still awaited.)
