'Rebels may play spoiler'

Q&A/ RAMESH CHENNITHALA

He is the man supposedly wearing the crown of thorns having been nominated to head the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) when the party seems to be facing fratricidal internal wars, dissidence and a resurgent Left opposition.

But Ramesh Chennithala, who is determined to turn all that into an opportunity, tells Business Standard how he plans to do that.

The biggest challenge that you face as the KPCC chief is to counter the threat posed by K Karunakaran, do not you agree?

Yes, we are worried about Karunakaran, who is a seasoned politician and has been in the party for a long time. A lot of party workers, who were emotionally attached to him, have left the Congress.

Our endeavour will be to woo these workers back into the party. We fear that Karunakaran may play the spoiler in the state, despite the fact that his party is without any ideology.

Apart from Karunakaran, the Congress also faced other dissidence problems. The change of chief minister from AK Antony to Oommen Chandy proved that...

Internal problems did weaken us. We will try to use the time (Kerala will go to the polls next year), to work on that.

Several social groups, which were supporting the Congress, deserted us in the Lok Sabha polls and we could not win a single seat. My strategy is to win these groups back.

How do you reconcile to being allies with the Left at the Centre and adversaries in the state.

Historically, the CPI(M) and the Congress have fought against each other. The present alliance was formed to keep the BJP and communal politics out. Both sides are clear on that. So it should not be affected by campaign in the states.

What about the Left stance on disinvestment?

That matter will be sorted out through discussion. In any case, I have made my views clear on the Left's dual stand on disinvestment in an article in Congress Sandesh, the party's mouthpiece.

In West Bengal, the CPI(M) is discarding the moribund and stale economic ideas, sanctified by the so-called worker's struggle. But the same CPI(M) is opposing such things in Kerala and at the Centre.

The draft political resolution of the 18th Congress of CPI(M) has adopted a soft line to such bourgeois deviations.

In such a situation, there is no real danger to the UPA government on this, these things can be sorted put at inter party fora.