KANNUR: Senior leader P P Mukundan demanded a reply from state chief K Surendran in the payment controversy and a leadership change is needed in the BJP. The BJP has lost its image after the polls, blamed the leader. He said that many who worked in the party with ideals are now standing aside.

Mukundan said that he had called Surendran when he came to Kannur after taking charge as party chief. Did not call later, may have blocked. The condition of the party now has gone back to the times of Sreedharan Pillai. A demand for a discussion at the grassroots level has not been considered, he said.

The voice clip of the phone conversation that surfaced is that of Surendran's. The leader said Surendran should have been vigilant and should have understood that it was a trap. Surendran should reply on it. There is a contradiction in what the BJP leadership asserts in the payment allegations, he said.

There was a finance committee in the BJP to manage election funds. The Kodakara incident has embarrassed the party. It needs to be changed. This affected the Parivar organizations. The leadership should be able to change the plight of the workers, he said.

Treatment should not be delayed for the disease that affected the BJP. A surgery may be required. The organization can no longer move forward in this way. When the party takes two steps forward the situation is such that it goes a step back. This has severely affected the organization. The national leadership must decide how the leadership should be changed. Otherwise, the BJP will lose its political relevance in the state.

The central leadership is aware of what is happening now. They were in touch with me. Called for more explanations on some things. The central leadership is investigating. The statement that would assume power if garnered 35 seats and inviting the league had created confusion in the activists, opined Mukundan.