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It appears the ruling National Democratic Congress� (NDC) quest to retain power in the 2016 general elections has come under threat, following deep cracks that have developed in the party, in the run-up to its National Delegates Congress, scheduled to take in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region. Initially, contestants for the various positions were campaigning on their own merits, confident that they were going to win on personal strength, but getting to the final showdown, slated for 13th December, 2014, some alignments or blocks are fast emerging. The plutocrats in the party, who are the likes of Dr. Kwabena Adjei � Chairman, Yaw Boateng Gyan � National Organiser, and Johnson Asiedu Nketia � General Secretary are determined to hijack the party, by calling on the delegates to vote en bloc for the old executives to continue their work. But, those aspiring to take over the positions of the incumbent executive officers have contrary views, and are calling on the delegates to kick out the Dr. Kwabena Adjei-led executives, who, they claimed, have lost touch with members of the party at the grassroots level. The Chronicle can state that so far, the party is divided into two factions, with the likes of Dr. Kwabena Adjei, Yaw Boateng Gyan, Asiedu Nketia, all incumbent national executives, including Betty Mould Iddrisu and Koku Anyidoho, vying for the positions of Vice Chairperson and Deputy General Secretary, on one side of the divide. Kofi Adams, Kofi Porturphy and George Lawson, contesting the positions of National Organiser, National Chairman and Deputy General Secretary respectively, are also on the other divide, thus deepening the cracks in the party. Mr. Dan Abodakpi, who appears to have been caught in the middle, because he does not belong to any of the two factions, is alleged to have made a statement to the effect that if fresh executive members were not voted into office, the party could lose the 2016 elections. The allegation, which was published on ghanaweb.com, indicated that the former ambassador advocated that if the Kwabena Adjei-led executives were not voted out and new ones brought onboard to lead the party, then the task ahead of winning the next elections would be as herculean as taming a lion. The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the party rescheduled the congress date to December 13, 2014, because an aggrieved member of the party, Njonolah Linus, dragged its executives to court for allegedly overstaying their mandated tenure of office. Earlier, most of the regional elections of the party were also rocked by series of court cases, which ended up delaying the original date of the congress. The congress was originally scheduled to take place on October 25. Before the nominations for the congress was opened, it was all over the place that incumbent General Secretary aka General Mosquito was going unopposed, but information reaching this paper at the time of going to press, showed that one Abdul Ishaq Farrakhan has filed his nomination to contest the outspoken General Secretary. The 44-year-old branch Chairman of the party in the Obuasi Municipality in the Ashanti Region accused General Mosquito in an interview with Citi News that he had neglected the grassroots members of the party. The incumbent, Dr. Kwabena Adjei, and three other persons, have filed their nominations to contest the position of National Chairman of the party. They are Kofi Porturphy, Alhaji Huudu Yahaya and Dan Abodakpi. Those contesting for other positions are General Secretary, Asiedu Nketia (incumbent) and Abdul Ishaq Farrakhan, Youth Organiser, Ludwig Akpene Hlodze (incumbent) and Sidney Abubakar. Yaw Boateng Gyan (incumbent) and Kofi Adams are vying for the position of National Organiser, while Betty Mould Iddrisu and Kojo Adu Asare, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Adenta, are contesting the Vice Chairmanship position. Koku Anyidoho, former spokesperson for ex-president John Evans Atta Mills, is slugging it out with the incumbent Deputy General Secretary of the party, George Lawson. Also contesting is Prince Morti, who is determined to become the next Deputy Youth Organiser of the NDC.