Wayanad District Congress Committee president ND Appachan quits days after Rahul, Sonia Gandhi's visit; sparks talks of internal discord

Congress

Wayanad District Congress Committee (DCC) president N D Appachan has resigned from his post, days after Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi visited the constituency, which is now represented by Priyanka Gandhi.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph confirmed the development on Thursday, telling the media that Appachan had “voluntarily submitted his resignation” and that the letter had been forwarded to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for further action.

Appachan, a former MLA, however, hinted that his departure was not on the best of terms. “KPCC president knows everything. I have nothing to say. Let them speak out. I had expressed my intention to quit,” he remarked.

According to party insiders, a revamp of KPCC and district units in Kerala had been under discussion for some time, but differences over names delayed the exercise. In Appachan’s case, sources suggested he was asked to step down following a string of controversies during Priyanka Gandhi’s recent week-long visit to Wayanad.

Priyanka’s tour was overshadowed by two tragedies - the death by suicide of local Congress worker Jose Nelladam and the suicide attempt of Padmaja, daughter-in-law of former district treasurer NM Vijayan. Adding to the discontent, district leaders complained that they were kept out of the loop on Priyanka’s schedule, which they said was managed solely by her personal team, a report by The Indian Express said.

On September 12, a day after Priyanka began her visit to the state, Padmaja attempted to end her life after publicly criticising the party for not offering financial help to her family. Her father-in-law Vijayan and husband Jijesh had both died by suicide last year, following allegations of a cash-for-job scam at a cooperative bank run by the party in 2019.

Just a day earlier, Nelladam’s death had also rattled the local unit. His passing came soon after another district leader, K Thankachan, was arrested over illegal liquor and explosives allegedly found in his possession. He spent 17 days in custody before police concluded he had been falsely implicated.

After coming out of jail, Thankachan accused Appachan and others, including Nelladam, of framing him. Appachan, along with a party legislator from Sulthan Bathery, had also been named in the abetment case linked to Vijayan’s suicide last December.