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Thiruvananthapuram: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is known for his penchant to make unsparing attacks on arch rival the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He never misses an opportunity to take to twitter to tear down Prime Minister Narendra Modi over policies and attitudes of the Government. The internal commotions in Congress over the organisational drift apart, his statements continue to receive far greater traction among the party ranks across the nation than those made out by any other leader.
Gandhi, however, appears to have chosen to remain largely silent on the political turmoil in Kerala set off by the ‘diplomatic baggage’ gold smuggling case. The UDF, led by his party, has unleashed a no-holds-barred campaign against the LDF government led by CPI-M stalwart Pinarayi Vijayan over the issue.
The case pertains to seizure of gold that came in diplomatic bags addressed to an official in the UAE consulate in Kerala capital. A former consulate employee, who allegedly wielded considerable influence in the Chief Minister’s office, figures as a key accused in the case. A senior bureaucrat who was principal secretary to the Chief Minister, with whom the accused had a close relationship, was suspended. The case is now being investigated by the NIA to ascertain greater ramifications, including the national security angle. Apart from customs, the Enforcement Directorate has also stepped on to track the money trail.
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The UDF stir against the Government, singling out the Chief Minister as the prime target, is led by opposition leader in the Assembly Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC president Mullapally Ramachandran. Both are sworn Gandhi clan loyalists, and were quick to take on the Group of 23 who triggered a maelstrom by shooting a letter to ask the Congress top brass to take urgent measures to arrest the organisational chaos.
What makes the silence of Gandhi over the turbulence significant is the fact that he represents the Wayanad seat in the Lok Sabha. On the flipside, however, there is nothing surprising or inscrutable about Gandhi’s muted response to the upheaval in Kerala. He may not simply want to displease the Left far too much as that political bloc, however lean and emaciated it has become, continues to be the most trusted ally of the Congress at the national level.
Left may not be a formal partner of a Congress-led coalition at the Centre or in any states. However, it is obvious that it sees the Congress as the sole political force against the BJP with a national presence. Also, despite its dwindling electoral strength, the Left has a decisive say in the secular-liberal intellectual and cultural narrative in the country.
No one, however, in the Congress the UDF, could be faulted if she raises the question how long can Gandhi choose to go soft on such a major issue in Kerala. Congress in the state is determined to keep the gold smuggling case live as the most potent weapon in its arsenal against the LDF for the state assembly elections due in May, 2021. As the assembly poll campaign draws closer, Rahul Gandhi would be forced to shed his soft approach towards the LDF.
In Kerala’s political context, Congress has nothing to gain if its top leader directs his ire entirely against the BJP. Significantly, Kerala is the lone South Indian state where the Congress stands a good chance to lead the government in near future, unseating the LDF.
Had Gandhi not contested and won from Wayanad in the 2019 LS elections, he could have had some elbow room to steer clear of the LDF. But having elected from the state with a resounding margin over his LDF rival, Gandhi cannot abdicate his responsibility to the UDF. The coalition will be looking at him as its star campaigner, planning to take him to every nook and cranny of the state.
In hindsight, Congress decision to field Gandhi from a seat in Kerala sounds a strategic blunder. He was apparently prevailed upon to contest from Kerala, in addition to Amethi, by some top leaders from the state. It came as a rude shock to the national leadership of the Left, which was desperately hoping to see a Congress-led alternative at the Centre, despite remaining adversaries in Kerala.
The proponents of the idea then held that Wayanad being a constituency in the tri-junction of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Gandhi’s presence there would positively influence the outcome in all these states. The results, however, showed that there was no Rahul effect in Karnataka while in Tamil Nadu Congress could pick a few seats by riding piggyback on the DMK.
The UDF virtually swept Kerala, not on account of Rahul’s presence but by cashing in on the anti-incumbency mood against the LDF government and consolidation of minority communities against the return of the BJP at the Centre.
