Congress leader predicts setback for party in local body polls in leaked audio

Thiruvananthapuram: A "leaked" phone conversation between the Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee president Palode Ravi and a local worker—in which he predicts doom for the party in the upcoming local body and assembly elections—has put the Congress in an unenviable position in the capital district ahead of the polls.

The conversation, aired by Malayalam TV channels on Saturday, features Ravi expressing concern about internal issues within the party.

Ravi was quick to issue a clarification, stating that the conversation was only intended to "motivate" grassroots workers.

In the call, he tells a local worker from Vamanapuram that "groupism and selfishness among local leaders are damaging the party, and that mutual respect and trust have eroded."

"They are only interested in backstabbing each other, and no one is working among the people," he claims.

He goes on to warn that, under such circumstances, the Congress will finish third in the local body elections and "fall flat" in the next assembly election.

"The BJP is focusing on at least 60 assembly seats where they’ll distribute money and secure around 50,000 votes. The Congress will lose those seats, and the CPI(M) will continue to rule," he says, expressing a total lack of confidence.

The leak comes at a time when the Congress leadership is projecting strong optimism that the United Democratic Front (UDF) will register a major victory in the upcoming elections.

Playing down the controversy, Ravi—a former deputy speaker and MLA—told reporters that the comments were meant to urge party workers "to rebuild the organisational network and campaign harder."

"I don’t know how the call was leaked. Team UDF is united in its campaign, and I was only asking workers to come together to win back the local bodies we lost in the previous elections," he said.

Meanwhile, the Congress is making elaborate preparations for the local body polls, assigning senior leaders to oversee campaigns in three major municipal corporations.

Thiruvananthapuram has been assigned to senior leader K Muraleedharan, Ernakulam to Opposition Leader V D Satheesan, and Kozhikode to Congress Working Committee member Ramesh Chennithala.

The upcoming local body polls are tentatively scheduled for December this year, while the assembly elections are due in April next year.