UDF will remain in opposition if neglect towards backward communities continues; mass petition to AICC

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The backward community leaders of the state Congress have come forward demanding that due representation must be ensured in the KPCC and DCC reorganisation. The issue has become a topic of discussion after a mass petition was submitted to the AICC in this regard.

The UDF will face a severe setback in the next local body and assembly elections if the discrimination and cutting short that have been going on at the organisational level and in the selection of candidates for the last two decades are not stopped. This has been made clear in a collective petition sent to the AICC and KPCC office bearers. The petition was submitted to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi, AICC General Secretaries KC Venugopal and Deepa Dasmunsi, and the new KPCC office bearers via e-mail by leaders from the KPCC to the DCC level belonging to the Ezhava, Muslim, Vishwakarma, Nadar, Dalit, Dheevara and Latin Catholic communities.

The Congress leadership has been ignoring the backward communities since the 2006 assembly elections. This is the main reason for the plight of the Congress in Kerala today. The next government cannot be formed just by declaring unity at the top. The majority of the backward and marginalized people who have distanced themselves from the party and the inactive ranks must be brought together. Otherwise, the Congress will have to continue in opposition for the third time. Some top leaders tend to sideline the backward communities by keeping caste and vested interests in mind when selecting candidates. This harsh approach is the reason why the Congress has been losing ground in the assembly elections since 2011. Previously, 40 to 50 seats were reserved for the backward communities, including those belonging to the Ezhava community. Now it has reduced to less than 20. After the 2011 elections, Congress had three members from the Ezhava assembly. In 2016 and 2021, it shrank to just one. There were up to four Congress MLAs from the Nadar community. Now, the membership those communities is zero. Vishwakarma representation in the assembly has also disappeared.

Caste monopoly at DCC head

The petition states that in some DCCs, including Thiruvananthapuram, the presidency has been made a monopoly of some advanced communities. In the Thiruvananthapuram DCC, where many leaders from backward classes held the presidency, leaders from a forward community have been in the presidency for six consecutive terms. According to the new guidelines of the AICC, the respective DCC presidents have a crucial role in the organisational work and selection of candidates in each district. The petition has pointed out that this should be considered in the restructuring of the KPCC and DCCs as the local body and assembly elections are approaching in the state.