Maintain strong relations with all community outfits, don’t oppose their views: Cong’s Chennithala

PTI, Dec 22, 2024, 1:18 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday said he has always maintained good ties with all community organisations.

He was responding to reports of prominent community leaders backing him as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2026 Assembly polls, which have sparked a heated political debate in the state.

“As KPCC president, Leader of the Opposition, and Home Minister, I always maintained good relations with all community organisations, which is essential for a public servant,” Chennithala told media.

Responding to the invitation by the Nair Service Society (NSS) to him as the keynote speaker at the birth anniversary celebrations of its founder and social reformer Mannathu Padmanabhan, he said it is up to the organisers to decide whom to invite to such events.

“I feel both happy and proud to participate in the Mannam Jayanti meeting,” he said.

The invitation extended by the NSS to Ramesh Chennithala as the keynote speaker at the Mannam Jayanti event has sparked speculation about a shift in the power dynamics within the state Congress ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

Back in 2013, NSS General Secretary G Sukumaran Nair openly demanded Chennithala to be given a prominent role in the Congress government led by Oommen Chandy.

However, Chennithala declined the support, expressing his reluctance to be portrayed as the leader of any particular community.

As a result, the relationship between Chennithala and the NSS had been strained for some time.

SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan, who has weighed in on the matter, also expressed his support for Chennithala.

Responding to a query about SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan’s remarks, the Congress Working Committee member stated that community leaders hold an important place in society, and he has no intention of opposing them.

“The question of who the Chief Ministerial candidate from the Congress will be is a topic of media discussion, and Vellappally responded because you asked the question,” he said.

Chennithala further stated that community organisations are entitled to express their views on who should become the CM.

He added that there has been no discussion regarding the reorganisation of the KPCC, and the Congress’s priority is to strengthen the party ahead of the elections and return to power in 2026.

KPCC president K Sudhakaran also stated that community organisations have the right to express their views.

Addressing media on Sunday he said: “We have not started discussions on the Chief Minister candidate.” Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in Kerala assembly V D Satheesan on Saturday opined that if the Nair Service Society (NSS) invited him to a major event like the birth anniversary celebrations of its founder and social reformer Mannathu Padmanabhan, it would benefit the Congress party.

Satheesan on Sunday reiterated that he would consider the criticism from Vellappally Natesan, stating that he never believed that he was above criticism.