THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The more things change, the more they remain the same. These words encapsulate the state of affairs in the Congress in Kerala right now.
There was a big clamour for change in the leadership of the Congress in the wake of the debacle in the local body elections. The top leaders of the party must go and the party organization must be reorganized if the UDF has to have any chance of wresting power in the State in the ensuing assembly elections. The allies of the Congress in the UDF like the Indian Union Muslim League(IUML) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party(RSP) also threw their weight behind the demand for change in Congress leadership. They blamed the poor show in the local body elections to the factionalism and lack of coordination at the top in the Congress. The Congress High Command also seemed inclined to back the leadership change demand. Also, all the 14 district Congress Committee (DCC) chiefs were also expected to be replaced in view of the poor performance in the local body polls.
But the High Command has since changed its mind. Having realized that a change in guard with Assembly elections just three months away will only worsen the crisis gripping the party, the High Command has wisely changed its stand. The central leadership floated the idea of collective leadership, asking former chief minister Oommen Chandy to play a more active role along with Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee(KPCC) president, Mullappally Ramachandran. In a clear boost to Chandy, the High Command also constituted a ten –member election management and strategy committee headed by him. The IUML and RSP have promptly welcomed the place of prominence given to Chandy. The DCC presidents will not be replaced either. This has come as a big relief to them. But the decision not to field them as candidates for the assembly polls has stunned them.
The boost to Chandy has not been to the liking of Ramesh loyalists and leaders belonging to the I group led by him. They feel, rightly so, that the High Command has been a bit unfair To Ramesh who did an excellent job as Leader of the Opposition(LOP) – an opinion openly voiced by no less a person than the KPCC president himself – in the last five years while Chandy was keeping a low profile, refusing to accept any top party post in the State. Ramesh’s frequent interventions had rattled the Left Democratic Front(LDF) Government forcing it to take corrective action in many matters. Ramesh loyalists feel that he should have been projected as the Congress’s next chief ministerial candidate in view of his effective performance as the LOP. The refusal to recognise Ramesh’s contributions amounts to an expression of lack of confidence in him.
Be that as it may, Chandy’s sudden elevation to the top won’t have the desired effect. So goes the thinking in a section of the Congress. If anything, it will only exacerbate the group rivalry in the state unit of the party, which the High Command is trying to end. For record’s sake, Chennithala has said that he would welcome Chandy being given any post in the party. In glaring contrast, Chandy has never publicly acknowledged Chennithala’s effective performance as LOP. Incidentally, Poonjar MLA P C George is on record that Ramesh Chennithala is the best LOP since the late K Karunakaran. There is, of course, another reason why Ramesh is persona non grata to some parties, especially the IUML. He is the only Congress leader who has not shied away from expressing opinions unpalatable to the IUML leadership, unlike Chandy. The only other Congress leader the IUML is wary of is Aryadan Mohammed who has become inactive in view of his advanced age and poor health.
One thing is for sure. Despite the public pronouncements, the group rivalry may revive after the assembly elections. The reason is clear. The High Command has made it clear that, if the UDF wins the elections, the leader who commands the support of more MLAs would become the chief minister. Which means there will be tough bargaining in the matter of candidate selection? The High Command has said that merit and winnability alone will be the sole criterion in deciding the selection of candidates. But the A and I groups led by Chandy and Chennithala respectively, are unlikely to yield without a fight to secure the interest of their respective groups.
The High Command has also taken a welcome decision to include Shashi Tharoor, MP, in the team to prepare the UDF’s election manifesto. This is, incidentally, the first time that Tharoor – the MP from Thiruvananthapuram for the last 12 years – has been given a prominent place in State politics. The decision will stand the party in good stead as Tharoor is extremely popular among the masses, especially youths and students. Tharoor will undertake extensive travels in the districts to elicit the public’s views to bring out a “people’s manifesto”. Ironically, KPCC chief Mullappally Ramachandran had sought an explanation from Tharoor on the letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi! Tharoor has been included in the election management and strategy committee thanks to the intervention of Oommen Chandy with whom he has a good rapport.
Meanwhile, the KV Thomas issue has been solved to the satisfaction of Thomas Mash, as he is known widely. Thomas is an influential Congress leader in Ernakulam district. There was speculaltion that Thomas will contest as an Independent supported by the LDF if Congress High Command does not address his concerns and grievances. Thomas has relented after AICC president Sonia Gandhi rang him up and asked him to discuss his grievances with the AICC observer and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot who was in the Kerala capital the other day. Reports have it that Thomas is happy now as he has been promised the post of KPCC working president.
The Youth Congress has also taken a tough stand this time around. YC leaders want more representation to young leaders and fresh faces in the assembly polls. They say one of the reasons why the LDF won a handsome victory in the local body elections was its decision to field young candidates and fresh faces. Therefore, the YC wants the Congress leadership to do the same. At one stage, they even went to the extent of threatening to field their own candidates if the leadership ignores their demands.
At the end of the day, it can be said that everything depends on candidate selection. If the AICC remains firm on fielding fresh faces and more young candidates, ignoring pressure from entrenched groups, the Congress can still give the buoyant and pumped up CPI-M-led LDF a good run for the money. (IPA Service)