Alarmed by rising factionalism in its Kerala unit, the Congress high command has issued a stern warning to state leaders, demanding unity ahead of the upcoming local body and assembly elections. Party President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi held a marathon round of closed-door meetings in New Delhi to address the turmoil threatening to derail the party’s electoral prospects.
According to sources, Kharge and Gandhi met several key Kerala Congress leaders individually to get first-hand feedback on the growing infighting. Notably, AICC general secretary (organization) K C Venugopal and AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi were absent from these twin sessions. The central leadership, insiders said, conveyed clearly that public spats and internal divisions would seriously dent the party’s credibility in the state.
Among those who attended the meeting were KPCC chief Sunny Joseph, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala and K Sudhakaran, and MPs Shashi Tharoor and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. During the consultations, several leaders reportedly voiced concerns about the lack of coordination, delayed organizational restructuring, and discontent following the reshuffle within the Youth Congress. Adoor Prakash, the UDF convenor, also raised objections to the poor consultation process in finalizing the KPCC general secretary list.
Emerging from the meeting, Sudhakaran told reporters that certain leaders were responsible for disrupting unity in the party, remarks that further highlighted the underlying tension. Kharge, however, sought to downplay the frictions, stating, “Everything cannot be discussed with the media,” and assured reporters that the Congress in Kerala remains united and well-placed to return to power. He further emphasized that discussions were ongoing and that the leadership would soon hold sessions with younger functionaries to shape a comprehensive revival strategy.
Reiterating the central leadership’s focus on course correction, Deepa Dasmunshi indicated that the high command had taken a serious view of the situation. “I am happy that the leadership has taken every small issue into consideration. It shows their commitment to Kerala,” she said. While officially denying factionalism, both Kharge and Dasmunshi maintained that the party would emerge stronger ahead of the state elections. However, insiders admitted that the central leadership’s message to Kerala was unambiguous — end internal battles or risk electoral fallout.