Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader K. Surendran on Saturday took charge as State president of the party.
Scores of BJP workers received Mr. Surendran at the railway station here and escorted him to the party office along with district president V.V. Rajesh. He was received by Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan, former presidents C.K. Padmanabhan, K. Raman Pillai, P.K. Krishnadas, and other leaders, including P.P. Mukundan.
Factionalism
Though the party leadership had said that all former presidents would attend the function, Kummanam Rajasekharan and yet another prominent leader Sobha Surendran were conspicuous by their absence.
The national leadership had warned leaders against factionalism and said that stringent action would be taken against those involving in group activities.
Ms. Surendran was one of the contenders for the president’s post and her absence at the function triggered rumours that the warnings of the national leadership had not helped to quell the differences of opinion in the party.
The party leadership explained that Mr. Rajasekharan and other leaders had to attend other programmes they had committed earlier and their absence should not be deemed as a protest against the national leadership’s decision to have Mr. Surendran as president.
Mr. Surendran, later, addressed the workers who gathered at the office.
