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Thiruvananthapuram: Now is the time for the poll-battered Congress in Kerala to start on a clean slate. The rough-and-tough CPI (M)-baiter K Sudhakaran, MP from politically volatile Kannur in North Kerala, has been installed as president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). The party high command made the appointment in less than a fortnight after V D Satheesan replaced Ramesh Chennithala as the opposition leader in the State Assembly.
The two key appointments, made in typical Congress style, mark a turning point in the party affairs in Kerala. It marks the sidelining of the troika of Oommen Chandy (former CM), Mullapally Ramachandran (the ousted KPCC chief) and Chennithala, who together led the party to its worst performance in 50 years. But more importantly, it sends out a message to the demoralized state unit that the times warrant the party to play hardball with the well-entrenched CPI (M) under the captaincy of redoubtable Pinarayi Vijayan, back as Chief Minister running roughshod over the rival.
Tall and well-built Sudhakaran, 73, is widely seen as the best choice to re-equip the party to take mercilessly on the Marxists. Not just impressive in his physical stature, Sudhakaran has also demonstrated over the years that he is competent in crafting strategies and carrying out them with clinical precision to outplay the rival on the field.
Sudhkaran’s greatest advantage is that he is not identified with any of the major factions in Congress in Kerala. The reactions to his induction from the grassroots vouch that the demoralised cadres are happy to have a leader, who they think can deliver at this critical juncture.
A confident-sounding Sudhakaran has said his essential task is to rebuild the party as a formidable force to take head on the CPI (M). “I know it is a formidable task, but I am confident of achieving that”, he told media, adding “ he is not saddled by the legacy of groups, and sure of getting the support from all sections in the party to secure his goal.”
The self-assertion apart, the challenges on his way are grim. The organizational network from top to bottom is in tatters. To begin with, Sudhakaran has to create a slim but effective group of core functionaries to resuscitate the party from the grassroots.
The state unit is now burdened with over 20 general secretaries and scores of other office-bearers. Though three working presidents have also been nominated, they are unlikely to be drafted for the day-to-day tasks. That would require a highly competent team, to be fanned across the state to work on a mission mode.
Politically, the biggest challenge before Sudhakaran is to regain the eroded support base of Congress. This includes getting back those sections weaned away by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and regaining the confidence of the Muslim and Christian minorities, reversing the inroads made by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) into these vote banks. It is also important to carry onboard the coalition allies, who are not very happy with the way Congress is functioning in the state.
Apart from vertically strengthening the party set-up, he also has to make bold initiatives in broadening the organizational reach by revitalizing the feeder outfits, campus wing and trade union and employees’ network.
All the present Congress leaders of Kerala, including Sudhakaran, have come up through the party’s students outfit Kerala Students Union (KSU), which now lags far behind the CPI (M)’s Student Federation of India (SFI), and in many campuses even behind the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). This has adversely affected the party’s ability to attract youth, which has had an incremental impact on its strength over the years.
The greater mission Sudhakaran is tasked with, however, is to equip the party, and the United Democratic Front (UDF) it heads, to repeat its splendid 2019 performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Having secured a second consecutive mandate, the CPI(M)’s next mission is to harvest a maximum number of parliament seats from Kerala in 2024.
Despite its triumphalism in Kerala, the CPI(M) has virtually no national presence now. Having blanked in West Bengal assembly polls, Kerala is the only state from where it could get seats in the Lok Sabha. So, the party will make all-out efforts to pick up as many parliament seats as possible in 2024. Kerala is no less crucial for Congress as well. Except for Karnataka, the party holds little hope in other southern states.
