Amit Shah likely to carry out ‘major surgery’ in faction-ridden Kerala BJP unit
BJP leaders who refused to be named said that though Rajasekharan was appointed in December 2015 with a clear brief to end factional feud, he was unsuccessful.
BJP president Amit Shah is likely to ‘perform a major surgery’ in the Kerala unit of the party in yet another attempt to stop a debilitating infighting, said party insiders who refused to be named.
Shah, who is scheduled to arrive on a day’s visit to Kerala on Tuesday, is expected to discuss the contentious issue of selecting the state president that fell vacant after the appointment of Kummanam Rajasekharan as the governor of Mizoram. He is also scheduled to review the party’s poll preparedness.
“Shah is likely to do a major surgery by bringing a new face and easing out some of the leaders who are perpetually trouble-makers. The state unit is in a shambles and it has to start from scratch now,” said a senior leader who did not want to be identified.
Several rounds of discussions to select the state unit president but have fallen flat after warring groups refused to budge from their positions. The RSS is also upset with the way Rajasekharan, a former pracharak, was eased out, said party sources. Shah is also scheduled meeting the state RSS leaders.
BJP leaders who refused to be named said that though Rajasekharan was appointed in December 2015 with a clear brief to end factional feud, he was unsuccessful. He was shunted out in the midst of Chengannur by-election in which the BJP finished third.
Upset with intense bickering Shah has given an ultimatum to the state leaders to put the house in order and reportedly sought a report from the general secretary in-charge of Kerala V Muralidhar Rao after his social media pages were flooded with complaints of workers.
“It is not the Congress, BJP or the SDPI that is preventing the BJP from growing but it is party’s own leaders. Throw some of the leaders out otherwise the party won’t survive in Kerala,” said one of the comments on Shah’s Facebook page.
The state unit is vertically divided into two groups - one led by Rajya Sabha MP V Muralidharan and other by former state president P K Krishnadas. The party had made Muralidharan an MP of the Upper House to wean him from the state politics but it failed to end the squabbling.
In the last assembly election the party had managed 14% votes but later its prospects dwindled due to intense infighting. During the day-long visit Shah will also meet office-bearers of six Lok Sabha constituencies from south Kerala.
