The Hindu : New Delhi News : AICC agrees to postpone party polls

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AICC agrees to postpone party polls

J. Balaji

Leaders want to concentrate on local body polls
No decision yet on Muraleedharan's return

NEW DELHI: The Congress high command has agreed to postpone the organisational elections of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) till the local body polls due in Kerala during October-November this year.

The Central Election Authority of the party formally informed this to KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala and Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy after they called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi here on Friday and made a request in this regard.

Congress general secretary in-charge of Kerala Mohsina Kidwai too confirmed this to The Hindu and said the decision was taken as the party leaders wanted to concentrate on their campaign for the civic polls. The party elections up to the booth and block levels had already been over in the State and that to the DCC and the KPCC were pending, she said.

On the readmission of the former KPCC president K. Muraleedharan into the party, she said no decision had been taken yet. Sources said the ongoing poll to the Youth Congress too was likely to be postponed.

Both Mr. Chennithala and Mr. Chandy met Union Defence Minister and Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony and discussed the issue.

The high command's move to postpone the poll is seen as an alternative to avoid any squabble among different factions of the State Congress, which, if left unchecked, might pose problems in the campaigning for the local body poll. With senior Congress leader K. Karunakaran expressing his unhappiness on the present KPCC leadership, the chances of factionalism raising its head during the party polls, particularly at the DCC/KPCC, were high, the sources said.

Mr. Karunakaran even opined that some quarters were sharing party posts in the name of consensus.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chennithala made it clear that the Congress would not cooperate or share dais with any communal organisation like the Popular Front of India (PFI), Jammat-e-Islami, PDP, RSS and the Bajrang Dal. If the State government took measures to ban such organisations, the Congress would fully support the decision.

The decision to ban the PFI depended on the State and Central governments.

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