Bid to put state BJPs house in order

KOZHIKODE: Disturbed by the ongoing factional feuds in the state unit of the BJP, the central leadership of the party is intervening to end the bitter power struggle ahead of the organisational elections next year. National leader P Muralidhara Rao, who is in charge of the party affairs in the state, told Express on Saturday that he would visit the state shortly to look into the issue though he feigned ignorance about a letter sent to him by a section of Kerala BJP leaders levelling serious allegations against the party state general secretary K Surendran.The letter, also addressed to present Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, who is the Saha Prabhari (co in-charge), alleged that K Surendran, Prabhari, another leader for Kasargod district, misused the post of the party state general secretary and had misappropriated funds sanctioned for the Assembly elections in Kasargod and Manjeswaram constituencies.“Huge funds were given to Manjeswaram constituency. The funds received are kept secret and handled only by Surendran, district general secretary K Sreekanth and mandal president Suresh Kumar Shetty. Even the district treasurer Sathischandra Bhandary was not taken into confidence and not allowed to handle the funds given through the district committee.Local leaders and workers of the party were kept away and every charge was given to outsiders. In short, local leaders and workers were not taken into confidence,” it said.It pointed out that Surendran along with party district general secretary K Sreekanth had indulged in group activities and mudslinging against senior leaders of the party.Surendran had sabotaged the organisational functioning of the party in the district. “Even during the Assembly elections, the meeting of core committee or office-bearers of the district committee was not convened. Whenever meetings were called, the Prabhari used to get the meeting attended by state president or organising general secretary so as to see that there was no proper discussion about the state of affairs of the party in the district.“Whenever some discussions were started it was being discouraged or stopped citing technical reasons,” it said.