It is dissonance that characterizes the Congress in Kerala – a sharp contrast to the discipline of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), where democratic centralism allows for the concentration of power at the top. In Congress, everyone is an opinion, or a faction.
These Assembly elections – in which Kerala is voting today – are an existential battle for the Congress and the United Democratic Front it heads. On the one hand, it faces a formidable challenge from the Communist Party of India (Maoist)-led Left Democratic Front seeking a free Kerala state for the Congress; On the other hand, it has to contend with a rising Bharatiya Janata Party that looks to the party’s Hindu voters in its quest to build an all-India Hindu constituency and the Congress Mukt Bharat. The beleaguered Congress has sought to survive this dual attack by claiming a bipartisan agreement. The D-word (deal) has been part of the Congress campaign, with Leader of the Opposition V D Sathisan raising it everywhere.
In his personal stronghold, Paravur, which he has won every election this century, Sathisan appears to face little challenge. One evening in Karimbadam, Paravur, this correspondent saw the arrival of Sathisan’s expedition. A band played the song Sare Jahan Se Achha, as the leader arrived in an open jeep at the local market, where he explained the five guarantees promised by the Congress. Indira’s five guarantees – free travel on state public transport buses, higher welfare pensions ( $3000), ( $5 lakh) supporting budding young entrepreneurs, a separate section for senior citizens, and $The OMS 25 lakh family health insurance scheme provides a positive touch to the Congress campaign. Sathisan, 61, was an aggressive activist. He has announced that he will go into political exile if the United Democratic Front fails to achieve a major victory. But in a party where seniority carries weight, there is no guarantee that he will become prime minister if the United Democratic Front is elected. With several claimants to the post – including senior leader Ramesh Chennithala and KC Venugopal (although he is not in the fray) – the UDF campaign has been quiet about the identity of its president, unlike the LDF, whose campaign is centered on its leader, CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
Kalpita Narayanan, a writer now associated with the Congress, has a different view on the mess. “Sushaktamaya ekadhipatyamanu appurathu, Ashakthamaya janadhpathyamanivide”, which, when translated with context, suggests that the Left offers a strong dictatorship while the Congress thrives on flexible democracy.
Nothing captures Narayanan’s joking description of the Congress party as well as his relationship with senior leader Shashi Tharoor. Until recently, several state leaders were making unflattering remarks about Tharoor’s politics. However, the Thiruvananthapuram MP has resurfaced among the party’s most sought-after activists. In Rani, a constituency hugging the Western Ghats region in southeastern Kerala, a local resident, Benny Sahithi, described the former Union minister as a “Generation Z icon.” The size and enthusiasm of the crowd that waited in the sweltering heat with Pazakulam candidate Madhu to receive Tharoor, who was an hour late, was revealing. Visibly happy, Tharoor said he was pleased and grateful for the appreciation he received from Congress candidates. Over the course of a week, he covered at least 60 constituencies, often covering 250-300 kilometers a day, holding road shows, speaking at street corner meetings, and even press conferences. In simple, functional Malayalam, he champions the Congress-United Democratic Front candidate, appealing especially to the youth. “A simple message is a positive message,” Tharoor explained. The final confession came from Satheesan in Paravur. “I assure that we will benefit from Shashi Tharoor’s knowledge and experience,” he said as Tharoor stood beside him.
Congress and UDF insiders are aware that another loss – the LDF breaking Kerala’s pattern of alternating fronts in office in 2021 – could be disastrous for the party. The results of the general elections and local body elections have given hope, although few would venture to expect a wave or sweep in favor of the party. This time UDF workers made an extra effort to carry out collective work, make home visits and take to the streets. Many North Kerala Muslim League leaders admitted that they were surprised by the enthusiasm shown by Congress workers in campaigning for the League candidates. John Samuel, head of the Congress’ propaganda wing in the state, said the party has revamped its wing, committees and mandalams after the loss in 2021. The Congress’s performance in state polls has been declining since 2001, when it won 62 seats. In the four subsequent elections, it dropped to 24, 38, 22, and 21, while the CPI (Maoist) raised its tally to 65, 45, 58, and 62 seats, respectively. With the exit of the Kerala Congress (Maoist), the United Democratic Front is now a comparatively weaker alliance: the Muslim League provides the ballast in the Malabar region, but the RSP, CPM, and MRP have limited influence.
The United Democratic Front is confident that it has won back Muslim and Christian voters who were turning away from the party. Election campaigns by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (both of whom were part of electoral politics in the state, representing the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency) strengthened the party’s secular and centre-left credentials. However, CPI (Maoist) General Secretary Ma Bibi has claimed that the Congress’s secular stance stems more from its complaints about the loss of power than from any ideological conviction.
But the real test for the Congress Party will be in managing the various social constituencies it once nurtured. The expansion of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) as a mass party since the 1970s, the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the absence of state and community leaders following the disappearance of K Karunakaran, A K Antony and Oommen Chandy, and the shrinking of its national footprint have tested the Congress’s ability to present itself as a party to govern in Kerala. The CPI(M) has tried to make the most of this crisis by projecting Pinarayi Vijayan as a strong and decisive administrator, in contrast to the Congress leadership which is seen as a prisoner of sectarian and sectarian interest groups. This novel has many applicants in the country.
One visible change in the UDF campaign is a group of powerful activists, including Sathisean, Tharoor and Lok Sabha MP Shafi Parambil. Parambil has a rock star image in north Kerala, where his path is a hit among the youth and women. He also fills a vacuum in Congress with popular leaders from the Muslim community. In contrast, the CPI(M) invested only in Vijayan, bringing in younger faces only in the final phase of the campaign.
As voters flock to the polls, the Congress and the United Democratic Front will be criss-crossing. A win would be a lifeline for the party – and the coalition – as it fights a war of narratives and seeks to reinvent itself as a party of social democracy.
