The power equation in the Congress party in Kerala is set for a drastic restructuring as an implosion has rocked the 'I' group that owes allegiance to senior leader K. Karunakaran.
Workers of the 'I' group have accused the leadership of the 'I' group of having made scapegoats of them even as the Karuanakaran family garnered all the top slots in the party and raked in the moolah.

It all began on Thursday when former 'I' group strongman Rajmohan Unnithan decided to expose the goings on within the group, alleging that the proposed Congress candidate for the Kollam Lok Sabha seat, Sooranad Rajasekharan, had got the seat allotted to him by paying cash upfront.

Unnithan also alleged that Karunakaran's daughter Padmaja Venugopal had been approached by Rajasekharan with money, and that she had warned Unnithan that Rajasekharan would approach Muraleedharan, too, with money and wrest the seat. Both Padmaja and Muraleedharan denied the allegation, but the disgruntlement in the `I' group has come out into the open following the open revolt by Unnithan.

Yesterday it was the turn of another staunch Karunakaran supporter and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) functionary Sarathchandra Prasad to attack the Karunakaran camp. Prasad told newsmen that Muraleedharan had amassed large sums of money in the backdrop of the Ernakulam rally held by the 'I' group and through group activities.

"Everybody knows that Muraleedharan has no political mooring. He has been continuously cheating the party workers. It is well known that Karunakaran's strength was based on the support of the ordinary workers of the party.

They are the ones who have been cheated by Muraleedharan. During the Ernakulam rally held last year by the 'I' group, workers had even borrowed thousands of rupees to attend the function and shout zindabad (long live...) for Karunakaran.

But Muraleedharan used the opportunity to get money from top people from within and outside Kerala telling them that the 'I' group was going to topple the A.K. Antony ministry," Sarathchandra Prasad said here yesterday.

Unnithan decided to speak out against the Karunakaran family after he felt he was cheated in the seat allocation for Lok Sabha while Sarathchandra Prasad had earlier once stated that he had not got his due from the Karunakaran family even after decades of dedication to the family.

The problem within the 'I' group is expected to create serious problems for the Congress party in the elections as those who have turned against the leadership can play a role in ensuring defeat of selected Congress candidates.

United Democratic Front Convenor Oommen Chandy declined to comment on Unnithan's statement, and said he expected all Congressmen to stay united and fight the polls. Opposition Leader V.S. Acuthanandan said it had to be probed whether the Lok Sabha seat allotments were conducted on the basis of cash payment. "I entrust you with the job of finding that out," he told newsmen yesterday.