Cong faces fresh trouble in Kozhikode as councillor takes on district leadership

Kozhikode: Already reeling from its defeat in the Kozhikode City Corporation, the Congress party is facing fresh turbulence in the district following an open rift among local leaders, triggered by allegations raised by newly elected councillor K C Shobhitha against the district leadership.

The internal discord came into the open after Shobhitha, councillor of Malapparamba ward, accused a section of Congress leaders of blaming her husband for the party’s defeat in the Paroppady ward and alleged that the party’s internal inquiry into the defeat was aimed at targeting her family. She also claimed that there were deliberate attempts to isolate her within the party and push her out.

Responding to the controversy, the District Congress Committee (DCC) president Praveen Kumar dismissed Shobhitha’s allegations as baseless and strongly criticised her for airing the issue on social media, demanding that she withdraw her Facebook post.

In her post, Shobhitha questioned why an inquiry was ordered specifically into the defeat at Paroppady when the party had lost in several wards across the corporation. While welcoming an inquiry, she alleged that her family was being harassed in its name. Clarifying her husband’s role in the election campaign, she said he was not a party worker and had initially expressed unwillingness to take up responsibilities during the election. “Despite this, he was asked to stay on, and now a section of the party is unfairly holding him responsible for the defeat,” she says.

Shobhitha, who has strong grassroots support in the city region, also alleged continuous neglect by the party leadership despite her 15 years of service as a councillor. She said she was denied due recognition as a woman leader and accused certain Congress leaders of undermining her for taking uncompromising stands against alleged wrong decisions by the CPM in the corporation council. “Attempts to isolate me and force me out of the party will not succeed,” she asserted.

Rejecting these claims, DCC president Praveen Kumar said the party’s internal inquiry report was yet to be published and that only three people, including himself, were aware of its contents. “Under such circumstances, it is unclear how Shobhitha is responding to a report that has not been made public. Her criticism is baseless, and the party hopes she will correct her mistake,” he said.

With the Congress reportedly planning to field Praveen Kumar as its candidate in the upcoming Assembly elections, the intensifying rift within the district leadership is emerging as a major challenge for the party.