The United Democratic Front (UDF) looks like it will win, so that’s the question going around Kerala’s political world.
The head of the Ernakulam District Congress Committee and a supporter of VD Satheesan, the Leader of the Opposition, Mohammed Shiyas caused a stir when he said that the next chief minister should be from the Ernakulam district (read Satheesan). This got a lot of attention from different types of Congress leaders, even though Satheesan himself played down the statement.
Then Kannur MP K Sudhakaran spoke out in support of KC Venugopal on Facebook. He made fun of Satheesan for not having enough experience running a business. In Kerala, some people who support Venugopal also used social media to praise their boss.
The best choice
Even though the findings won’t be made public for another two weeks, Satheesan, Venugopal, and Ramesh Chennithala have already started competing for the top spot.
It’s time for Congress to make a long-term decision about the state. This time, the support of minority groups has made them stronger.
Who, from the point of view of the Congress party, would be the best Chief Minister for Kerala right now? Since he meets all the requirements, it should be Shashi Tharoor.
Elected MLAs, on the other hand, have an advantage over MPs like Tharoor or KC Venugopal. It would be hard for the Congress leadership to force someone on them when there are two by-elections in six months.
Venkat and Satheesan
The choice would depend on whether Satheesan and Chennithala could reach an agreement.
On the other hand, Chennithala would never give in. Even Satheesan wasn’t going to give up easily. This makes sure that the call will be answered by the Congress high command in the end.
If we talk about eligibility, Satheesan has a strong case. As the LoP, he led from the front and brought together a colourful alliance of different groups, from the Jamaat-e-Islami to Marxists who had betrayed their party.
There is, however, one bad thing about Satheesan. In the eyes of the Nair Service Society (NSS) and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, he is not a good pick.
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The vote of Hindus
If Congress wants to stop relying on the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), it needs to be able to bring back the Hindu group or at least the Nair vote bank that it always had.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s growth in the state, this had to be done. This “Hindu” member had given up on the Congress party and turned to the Hindutva party instead.
Though the Congress may not do well in the Assembly poll, the BJP’s rise in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital, should be a red flag for the party.
Many leaders in the Congress party have started using Jamaat-e-Islami language without meaning to. Raju P. Nair, a supporter of VD Satheesan and an official spokesman for INC Kerala, said that minority communalism and majority communalism are not the same thing in a TV conversation I was a part of after the election on 24 News. He started to attack the RSS, but he was less harsh on Islamism. Even though Marxists can say things that aren’t true, the Congress in Kerala can’t. They forget that the UDF is usually made up of Christians, Nairs, and Muslims, and that each group plays an important part.
Choice are tough
As of now, Muraleedharan has not been to a party for fifteen years. The easy thing to do would have been to run from Guruvayoor, but he decided to fight in Vattiyoorkavu, where the Marxists were.
It would be very hard for Chennithala, who had a claim in 2011, if Muraleedharan was chosen. In the Congress Parliamentary Party, he was better than Oommen Chandy. But some people in Kerala aren’t sure if Chennithala’s style of politics is no longer relevant.
At the same time, KC Venugopal is said to be betting that Chennithala and Satheesan will not be able to come to an understanding. This is because the Parliamentary Party is expected to support him. Many long-time Congress members in Delhi would also like to send Rahul Gandhi to Kerala to get him away from his friend.
As for Satheesan, he has never been a minister in the state government. In 2011, VS Sivakumar beat him to the job. Satheesan might not be ready for the job yet; he needs to make friends with neighbourhood groups first.
Read also: Congress was loyal to the rule that banned booze even though it wasn’t useful
Congress is in a very important position in Kerala politics right now
If the party wants to stay important after five years, it needs to do something, not just count on the minority to stay together. In many places, it has been lowered to the second one.
More importantly, it needs to get back the Hindu voters it lost to the BJP.
A top reporter from Kerala named Anand Kochukudy worked for many years. He tweets as @TheKochukudy. Your views are unique.
A versatile writer mainly works on trending news, daily updates from politics, business, crime, current affairs and entertainment.
