Status quo will continue in party till polls get over: Chandy

A day after he was snubbed by the Congress high command over PCC Chief Ramesh Chennithala's cabinet entry, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today said "status quo" will continue in the party and government till Lok Sabha polls get over.
"After holding discussions with all leaders, High Command has declared status quo in the party and the government. It will continue till Parliament elections get over. It is applicable to all Congress men, including me and KPCC president," he told reporters here.
Chandy was reacting to questions on Congress President Sonia Gandhi's decision to turn down his proposal to induct a reluctant Chennithala into his government, which is under attack over the solar panel scam.

Chennithala, who has been at the helm of the party in Kerala for the last eight years, had made it clear that he was not keen on joining the government headed by Chandy, whose office is under cloud over the solar panel scandal.
After meeting Sonia Gandhi yesterday, Chennithala had said he had got consent of the Congress president to continue as KPCC chief.
However, Chandy wanted the PCC chief's entry into his Cabinet to give a breather to his beleaguered government.

Party high command is said to be upset with Chandy for failing to manage the two key allies in his UDF government - Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Kerala Congress (Mani)- which had expressed reservations over Chennithala's induction as Deputy Chief Minister.

The two alliance members had often stated that as key partners, they too had a claim to the slot, which is now non- existent.
Sources said the high command has conveyed its displeasure to Chandy for not coming up with an effective formula to solve the crisis in the government and induct Chennithala into the Cabinet.