New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) The Congress has called a meeting here of its senior leaders from Assam and Kerala this week in which the status of the organisation and preparations for the assembly elections to be held next year will be discussed, sources said on Wednesday.
The meeting of Kerala leaders on Friday comes amid a row over Congress' Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor's recent article in a newspaper that drew criticism from some Congress leaders in Kerala for his perceived praise of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the state for boosting the investment climate.
In Assam, the Congress has opened a front against the BJP government and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma on the issue of alleged corruption. On the other hand, Sarma and the BJP have accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi's wife of having links with Pakistan and its neighbouring country's intelligence agency ISI.
The meeting with senior leaders from Assam will be held on Thursday.
The Congress is the main opposition party both in Kerala and Assam and seeking to wrest power from the LDF and the BJP in the two states respectively.
Assembly elections are set to take place in Kerala and Assam in March-April next year.
The two meetings with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi will be attended by the party in-charges of both the states, the president of the Pradesh Congress Committee, the Leader of the Legislative Party, MPs and many other senior leaders.
Tharoor's article in the English-language daily, praising the entrepreneurial growth in Kerala under the LDF government, kicked off a political storm in the state a week ago, with the Congress questioning the basis of it while the CPI(M) welcomed it.
Later, Tharoor's remarks in a Malayalam podcast were seen by many as pitching himself for leadership in the state. He is said to have been upset with a section of the state leadership.
Speaking with reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor noted that a party meeting has been called on Friday and he "will be there with everyone else".
Amid reports that the Congress high command is planning a revamp of the party in Kerala from the top, KPCC president K Sudhakaran on Wednesday said he will abide by any decision taken by the All India Congress Committee.
While making it clear that no one from the AICC has asked him to step down, Sudhakaran said it is up to the high command to take a decision on reorganising the party and changing the KPCC president.
In Assam, Gogoi has rejected the allegation against his wife as "ridiculous" and top Congress leaders have stood by him, slamming Sarma for the claims.
