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10 hours ago
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A leaked telephone call purportedly involving the Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee (DCC) president Palode Ravi embarrassed the Congress on Saturday, leading to Mr. Ravi’s resignation from the post at the close of the day. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph accepted the resignation.
Meanwhile, the party expelled A. Jaleel, its Vamanapuram block general secretary who, it is said, was at the other end of the phone call, upon finding that he was involved in anti-party activities. The telephone discussion about the possibility of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) returning to power again in 2026 and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) striking deeper, making electoral gains in the Assembly elections, had put the Congress on the defensive through the day.
Ravi’s version
While Mr. Ravi, former MLA and Deputy Speaker in the Kerala Assembly, sought to portray the contents of the conversation as a wake-up call and a warning routinely issued to party workers down the chain of command in order to sensitise them to the challenges lying ahead, the State leadership was not pleased and sought an explanation from him.
Such remarks are fundamentally aimed at erasing factionalism at the lower levels, which is a prerequisite for ensuring the ouster of the Left government, Mr. Ravi reckoned. The leaked tape contained disparaging predictions about the Congress faring poorly in the local body polls later this year and “falling headlong in the Assembly.”
As the day progressed, the State leadership of the Congress consulted the Central leadership, which asked it to seek Mr. Ravi’s resignation. “Interestingly, he did not deny saying what was on the tape. He just tried to defend himself,” said a senior leader, who denied the party contemplating any further action against Mr. Ravi.
While none has been given the charge of the DCC president for now, sources in the party said a replacement would be made soon.
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