THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The pathetic performance of the Congress in the assembly elections in the five states has also unsettled the Congress leadership in Kerala.

The decisive election verdicts have shattered the Congress at an all-India level even as the state unit of the party is disturbed by the slow pace of the membership distribution campaign for the union elections and the disruption of DCC reorganisation due to heated disputes.

The Congress has plunged itself into a pit in Punjab, thanks to the dispute among its leaders. A similar cold war is also raging among Congress leaders in Kerala, though not to the same extent. Senior leaders, including Ramesh Chennithala, who felt humiliated when the state Congress was revamped following the setback in the last assembly elections, are still finding it difficult to accept VD Satheesan as the new opposition leader.

Many in the state Congress camp are saying that the debacle in Punjab was a great lesson for the party leadership in Kerala. According to some leaders, the leadership will face a huge setback in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections if the unrest at the leadership level is not resolved yet. Workers at grassroots levels are reportedly disappointed over the ongoing dispute among the leaders over the DCC reorganisation. The reorganization talks, which have been going on for two months, are going on indefinitely.

As per the AICC election calendar, the list of members and the list of candidates for the various committees should be published by April 1. However, the list of candidates in Kerala can be prepared only after adding all the members. The leaders are not sure whether the membership campaign will be completed by the 31st of this month.