Senior Congress Leader PC Chacko Resigns ahead of Kerala Assembly Polls

NEW DELHI: In a major setback to the Congress party in Kerala, ahead of the Assembly Elections, senior Congress leader P.C. Chacko resigned today, alleging lack of leadership in the national level and groupism in the state functionary.

Claiming that there is no democracy left in the Congress party Chacko tendered his resignation to the party's high command. However, as per reports, Chacko dismissed the speculations of joining BJP and stated that there is "no question" of joining the saffron party.

Chacko expressed his disappointment over the seat-sharing arrangement of the party, which he termed as "undemocratic" as the seats are divided between two groups, Congress (A) and (I). The 'A' group is headed by Oommen Chandy and 'I' group is headed by Ramesh Chennithala.

While he did not favour the groupism within the party, Chacko stated that he has been thinking about tendering his resignation from several days.

The spokespersons, and a former MP from Thrissur in Kerala, Chacko asserted that even though he argued with the high command to put an end to this groupism, things did not materialize.

Alleging that the state leaders were not taken into consideration while deciding the list of the candidates, Chacko stated that there is no democracy left in the Congress party. He further alleged that only two people (Chandy and Chennithala) were aware of the candidates to be fielded in the polls on April 6.

Meanwhile, reacting to Chacko's resignation, senior leader Anand Sharma said that those who want to leave the party they can't be stopped. He, however, maintained that the Congress party will unitedly fight the elections.

Kerala Congress MP Hibi Eden, commenting on PC Chacko's resignation from the party, said - "He is a very senior Congress leader who has been given ample opportunities by the Central leadership. He's a valuable asset for the Indian National Congress. I don't think it was a wise decision at this crucial juncture where Congress is going into an important election."

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