Just days after top Congress leader from Kerala, V.M.Sudheeran stepped down from the political affairs committee (PAC) of the party, on Monday he also quit as an AICC member.

The 73-year-old veteran quit from the PAC — the highest decision-making body of the state unit of the party on Saturday, that came as a shock to many so when he called it quits from the AICC membership it did not baffle many.

Sudheeran is a former state party president, legislator, Lok Sabha member, minister, former Speaker and is known for his clean image in almost five decades of his public career.

He, according to sources in the know of things, has sent his resignation letter to the AICC and is believed to have expressed his ire against the state party leadership led by new appointees President K.Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan.

What has upset Sudheeran more is state unit president K Sudhakaran’s claim that the former had quit because of health issues and that the leadership was not at fault. Opposition leader V D Satheesan’s public confession after meeting the senior leader in person here on Sunday that there had been lapses from his side exposed the contradictory positions of the new top two.

Sudheeran has refused to open up in any manner on why he has been creating ripples.

“One cannot link Sudheeran’s quitting to that of a few leaders leaving the party, which happened early this month. Sudheeran is definitely one of the tallest Congress leaders in the state. Things in the party unit here have been in shambles, ever since they lost the April 6 assembly polls, giving Pinarayi Vijayan his historic second successive term. There appears something more, which only he will be able to tell,” said a top critic.

Ever since the Sudhakaran-Satheesan team took over with the full blessings of the party high command in Delhi, ignoring the traditional faction managers of Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala which has been a norm, affairs in the state party unit has not gone down well among many Congressmen in the state.