Kasaragod: Amid an escalating street battle among Congress workers over Kerala’s next chief minister, Kasaragod MP Rajmohan Unnithan on Saturday backed party national general secretary K C Venugopal and condemned those who tore down posters featuring the image of the late former chief minister Oommen Chandy.

“K C Venugopal cannot be sidelined,” Unnithan said, adding that many Congress leaders in Kerala were staying silent on the issue out of fear of abuse and attacks on social media.

His remarks come as the Congress’s chief ministerial contest has sharpened between Venugopal, V D Satheesan, who led the UDF campaign as Leader of Opposition, and veteran leader Ramesh Chennithala.

The latest flashpoint came after supporters of Venugopal put up posters carrying his photograph alongside Oommen Chandy with the slogan “After Kunjoonju, KC”, using Chandy’s popular nickname. The board was found torn, triggering outrage within sections of the party.

“Those who tore Oommen Chandy’s flex boards are not real Congress workers. If Rahul Gandhi’s photograph had appeared alongside K C Venugopal’s image, they would have torn that too,” Unnithan said.

Chandy Oommen, son of Oommen Chandy, had earlier said he would not rule out the possibility of workers of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) being behind the attacks. If Congress workers were involved, he said, it was likely done in the heat of the moment, without thinking.

Unnithan urged Congress workers to end factional activity and street-level clashes over the leadership issue. “Political lobbying for the chief minister’s post may continue till the very end. But it should not turn into a street war. Once the high command takes a decision, everyone will ultimately have to accept it,” he said.

Swipe at Mathew Kuzhalnadan
Unnithan also took an apparent swipe at Muvattupuzha MLA-elect Mathew Kuzhalnadan, saying that allies, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), had every right to express an opinion on who should become chief minister.

“No leader can say others have no right to express an opinion. Everyone knows the political legacy of those who say such things,” he said.

Kuzhalnadan had recently criticised the IUML for openly backing Satheesan, arguing that naming the Congress’s chief ministerial choice was the party’s prerogative and allies should not express their views on it.