Youth Congress Finds Neither Seat Nor Land

Thiruvananthapuram: The Youth Congress has found itself empty -handed again, this time both in politics and in promises. With the local body candidate list finalised, the young brigade is fuming. Their names, once paraded as the party’s future, were quietly dropped from the final selection.

State president O J Janeesh didn’t hide his frustration. He accused the KPCC of denying the Youth Congress its due share and warned leaders against “forgetting the past.” Across districts, the discontent is open. Youth Congress workers feel sidelined, their recommendations ignored, their loyalty taken for granted. Some are already hinting at protests, while others have started the usual ritual of blaming “inner party politics.”

In the middle of all this, Janeesh turned his attention to another long-forgotten issue, the Wayanad housing project. After the landslides in Mundakkai and Chooralmala, the Congress had promised to build 100 houses for victims. The Youth Congress had its own plan, collecting money through an app and local drives, vowing to build 30 houses. But the only thing that has been built so far is confusion.

Janeesh blamed the government for the delay, accusing it of withholding land and beneficiary details. “We’re ready to start construction, but the government keeps creating obstacles,” he said. A curious shift, considering the Congress had once proudly announced it would find land and build the houses without depending on the government. What was once a declaration of self -reliance now sounds more like an appeal for rescue, politics, after all, has a short memory and an even shorter attention span.

KPCC president Sunny Joseph, when asked about the same issue, ended his press conference abruptly. Earlier, he had said that land for rehabilitation was not available in Wayanad, a claim many found amusing, given the district’s wide open stretches and hilly terrain.

For now, the Youth Congress stands cornered: no seats to contest, no land to build on, and no clear answers from the senior leadership. What began as a promise of homes and political renewal has turned into another familiar Congress scene,meetings, complaints, and statements that build nothing.