Kerala Cong unit meets high command in Delhi

SEnior members of the u.s. Congress’s Kerala building block on fri held a get together at All bharat Congress Commitee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge’s home in New Delhi, to complete a round of discussions on the party’s strategy ahead of assembly elections in the state.The leaders from Kerala included state party president, Sunny Joseph, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly VD Satheesan, former LoP Ramesh Chennithala and working president and MP Shafi Parambil. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal took part in the discussions.However, senior party MP Shashi Tharoor was not present at the meeting leading to speculation that he was being sidelined for assembly polls.Tharoor’s office said he had informed the party of his inability to attend the meeting due to his prior commitments at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode.However, according to claims by people close to Tharoor, the Thiruvananthapuram MP was repotedly “very upset” at the treatment meted out to him by the party, especially after differences had been ironed out at the Wayanad meetings on the sidelines of the Lakshya 2026 leadership camp organised by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee to chalk out strategies for the upcoming state assembly elections.In a post on X after the meeting, Kharge said that 3.6 crore people of Kerala are yearning for change. “The Congress party, along with our partners in the UDF, is determined to ensure progressive, development-oriented, welfare-based governance in the state. An important preparatory meeting with Kerala Congress leaders was held for the forthcoming Assembly elections,” he said.After that conclave, Tharoor had said that he had never deviated from the party line.There was no official reaction from the Congress on the issue.The election committee of the KPCC is set to convene in the state on January 27 where discussions to finalise candidate selection will begin.One of the pressing issues -- whether Lok Sabha MPs of the party should be allowed to contest Assembly elections — was not discussed, the leaders said.“UDF seat discussions, contours of the UDF statewide march and the campaign schedule of Rahul Gandhi in the state were among the topics that were discussed,” Joseph told reporters.“The AICC asked us to complete the UDF seat divisions as soon as possible. We will comply with it. With the local body elections in our favour, we are fully optimistic about the upcoming Assembly elections,” he added.Satheesan said that few Assembly seats are going to be exchanged between the IUML and the Congress based on winnability. “There are some seats where we have lost for years which will be given to IUML. Similarly, some seats where they have lost in the past will be given to us. All differences will be ironed out,” he added.He said that the party will finalise the list of candidates soon and jump into campaigns.(with PTI inputs)