Kannur DCC President likely to be replaced

KOCHI:  The rift between K Sudhakaran MP and Kannur DCC president P Ramakrishnan has come to a flash point. Ramakrishnan, identified with the ‘A’ group, is likely to be replaced by former minister and ‘I’ group leader P Sankaran, highly placed sources said. The KPCC has already sought an explanation from Ramakrishnan in the wake of the unruly scenes at the DCC office on August 31. He has been asked to submit the report within 15 days. Though some leaders believe that the replacement would not worsen the situation, as it is only a temporary arrangement till organisational elections are held within a month. The group rivalry between the ‘A’ group led by Ramakrishnan and the group led by Sudhakaran, is likely to intensify in the coming days. The friction between the two groups had worsened after A P Abdullakutty was given ticket to contest the Kannur Assembly seat in the 2009 by-election. The recent turmoil in the Kannur DCC erupted after Ramakrishnan reconstituted some Mandalam Congress Committees without the consent of senior leaders, including Sudhakaran. He had also dismissed eight Congress activists of Chapparapadavu in connection with the picketing of DCC president’s office on August 28. In the August 31 incident, the Congress workers led by AICC member Suma Balakrishnan and KPCC member M Narayanan Kutty gheraoed Ramakrishnan at the DCC office over the issue of the expulsion of some party members belonging to the Sudhakaran faction. They had also demanded an apology from Ramakrishnan for his alleged remarks against Sudhakaran and had accused him of not functioning in a democratic way on party lines.Ramakrishnan, without naming Sudhakaran, had alleged that some leaders had siphoned off the fund raised to help the families of party martyrs.  Sudhakaran had sent a fax to KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala demanding the removal of Ramakrishnan.