The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala has accused All India Congress Committee (AICC) basic secretary KC Venugopal of working in opposition to the pursuits of the Congress to trigger injury nationwide.
The Congress is the primary opposition social gathering in Kerala, and Mr. Venugopal can be a member of the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency within the state.
The CPI(M), which is a part of the nationwide opposition Alliance of India, has stepped up its assaults on Venugopal because the state Congress neighborhood can be enthusiastic about his rising affect throughout the social gathering.
Intensifying the Left’s assault on Venugopal on Friday, senior CPI(M) chief and training minister V. Shivankutty termed him a “Computer virus” of the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering and claimed that collectively they had been plotting to “destroy” the Congress. Mr. Shivankutty alleged that Mr. Venugopal was giving “improper recommendation” to Rahul Gandhi and was finishing up a technique to “undermine” Congresses within the states.
Shivakutty’s rapid focusing on of Venugopal was Venugopal’s allegation that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF authorities was implementing Bharatiya Janata Social gathering insurance policies in Kerala. The AICC basic secretary has flagged the training ministry’s current choice to roll out the PM SHRI mission in colleges in Kerala, which has now been placed on maintain following backlash from throughout the LDF.
Venugopal additionally alleged that the Vijayan authorities tried to implement new labor legal guidelines introduced within the state by the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering-led Heart.
Mr. Sivankutty can be the Labor Minister, and the state has framed and notified rules associated to labor legal guidelines within the state in 2021. It’s one other matter that Left events and commerce unions are up in arms in opposition to the just lately notified labor legal guidelines, greater than 5 years after they had been handed in Parliament.
Venugopal, 62, is now thought of essentially the most influential Congress chief from Kerala on the nationwide degree and maintains an energetic presence in state politics, unsettling his critics throughout the factional social gathering.
Earlier this month, when the Bloc India or Mahagathbandhan suffered a humiliating defeat within the Bihar meeting elections by the hands of the NDA, the Kerala CPI(M) pinned the blame on Venugopal.
State CPI(M) secretary MV Govindan mentioned that as a substitute of strengthening the anti-BJP alliance in Bihar, Venugopal was engaged on “strengthening” his place within the Kerala Meeting.
When Venugopal, then a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan, determined to contest from Alappuzha within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the CPI(M) termed it an try and “strengthen” the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering within the Higher Home. The CPI(M)’s argument was that if elected to the Lok Sabha, Venugopal must resign from the Lok Sabha, which might give the BJP extra seats within the Higher Home.
The CPI(M) management then used this allegation in opposition to Venugopal to woo Muslim voters, however Venugopal gained a landslide victory within the seat, defeating the CPI(M) candidate by a margin of over 63,000 votes.
Since Venugopal took over as AICC basic secretary (organisation) in 2019, his affect throughout the Congress has elevated. Since then, he has had a major voice in all organizational issues in Kerala, which has led to a recalibration of the equation within the state meeting. This has created an impression amongst social gathering insiders that Venugopal will emerge because the main candidate for the chief minister’s put up if the party-led UDF wins the state meeting elections scheduled for April 2026.
Venugopal’s growing involvement in parliamentary affairs throughout the state and involvement in all points within the state has sparked speak inside KPCC that he’s vying for the highest put up within the state together with different social gathering leaders, together with LoP chief VD Satheesan and Ramesh Chennithala, who can be contesting the CM election.
Venugopal is actively campaigning on the bottom for the social gathering’s panchayat-level conference within the run-up to the December municipal elections within the state, that are thought of because the semi-finals of the meeting elections. Reacting to studies about his actions within the state just lately, Venugopal mentioned, “I’ll function in Kerala, nevertheless it is not going to flip any chairs.”
Vishnunadh, working chairman and MLA committee of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), hit again on the CPI(M) for focusing on Venugopal. “He (Venugopal) is a Lok Sabha member elected by the folks. Why ought to the CPI(M) accept that? Ever since he took over as AICC basic secretary (organisation), the Congress has gained in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh,” Vishnunadh mentioned. “For the Bihar elections, he was in Bihar for 17 days. Why did CPI(M)’s sole CM Pinarayi Vijayan not go campaigning in Bihar even for a day though the Left is a associate within the Mahagathbandhan? Each chief has the precise to work in his homeland.”
