New axis in Kerala Congress unites Chennithala, Chandy factions

The decade-old infighting in the Congress in Kerala has taken a dramatic turn with new found love between the A and I groups.

Ramesh Chennithala, who leads the I group, and Oommen Chandy, the leader of A group, have teamed up against the new power axis of K C Venugopal, V D Satheeshan and K Sudhakaran.

V D Satheeshan’s vision of converting Congress into a ‘semi-cadre party’ is tough to realise with the two senior leaders, having popular support, opposing the idea. “No one can ignore the mass base and strength of Oommen Chandy, who is the AICC general secretary and a member of the Congress Working Committee. I don’t insist that I should be consulted before taking decisions, but no one can ignore Chandy for sure,” said none other than Ramesh Chennithala, at Kottayam, during a formal ceremony to inaugurate the new District Congress Committee (DCC) president.

The explicit signs of melting the archaic rivalry between the two established groups in the party are apparently visible in the responses of leaders from both the factions. “Oommen Chandy and I have worked together for a long time. He was the parliamentary party leader while I was the KPCC president. When K Muralidharan (son of K Karunakaran) quit the party, both of us worked together to bring him back,” Chennithala said, giving an impression that the factional fight between A and I groups was nothing but a figment of people’s imagination.

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It is quite evident that the sword of discipline will not be sufficient for the new axis of power (Venugopal-Satheeshan-Sudhakaran) to bring things under control when top leaders like Chennithala and Chandy are publicly speaking out against decisions taken by the new Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran.

Recently, the trio tried to send a strong message by suspending some senior leaders for expressing the displeasure in public. The same yardstick cannot be applied to Chandy and Chennithala, considering the mass support both leaders enjoy.

Former MLA and senior leader K C Joseph too spoke out, when he said that “someone has been paid for maligning Oommen Chandy”. “This is a paid work; it is not done by the political opponents, but comes from the rivals within the party,” Joseph said, sharing the venue with Chennithala at Kottayam. Joseph took the opportunity to ask why no disciplinary action was taken against people who make derogatory remarks against Chandy.

Meanwhile, the feud within Congress augurs well for the CPI-M, which has decided to strike while the iron is hot. P S Prasanth, KPCC secretary, who was the UDF candidate from Nedumangadu constituency in Thiruvananthapuram, joined the Left recently. He was accorded a warm welcome at AKG Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

P S Prasanth accused new DCC chief, Palodu Ravi, of conniving with the BJP to defeat him in the recent assembly elections. Sources within CPI-M said a total of 22 local office-bearers of Congress in Thiruvananthapuram have left the party and would join CPI-M soon.  “The conflicts in Congress will never be resolved,” said A Vijayaraghavan, the state secretary of CPI-M. “A party that does not have a policy and internal democracy can never transform into a cadre party,” he said.

Leader of opposition, V D Satheeshan, does not want to go in for the battle. “Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala are the unchallenged leaders. There is no Congress without them,” he said in a meeting organised to hand over charge to new DCC chief at Thrissur. However, Satheeshan alluded that there is no plan for a compromise. “KPCC President has the last word in the party, even my position is secondary to him,” he said.

The BJP in Kerala, despite struggling with internal conflicts and corruption allegations, has welcomed “disillusioned Congress leaders”. A N Radhakrishnan, the state Vice-President of BJP, said the party  doors are open for “unhappy” Congress leaders. He said, “leaders like Ramesh Chennithala have spent their lives for Congress and now they are asked to go. We would welcome Ramesh Chennithala and others to the BJP.”

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Those who have known Congress over the years, do not think that factionalism can be buried for ever. “We can’t deny the existence of A, I groups. Over the years, group loyalty has proliferated throughout the party-from booth levels to KPCC. So it may not change overnight,” said Sudha Menon, an independent researcher and political commentator. However, Menon thinks that the mindset of average Congress worker is undergoing a change, especially after the party’s second consecutive electoral loss. “It has affected their morale and, of late, they realised the futility of groupism. The second-level group managers sensed this change in perception and stood by the new KPCC President and opposition leader,”says Menon.

Some others say that factionalism in Congress is not based on ideological differences, but ego and lust for power. “I think the party is at the crossroads. If they (leaders) are not willing to change and behave responsibly, the Congress may end up in terminal decline. The only answer to many questions within Congress is organisational election. The party has to be more democratic rather than being a party of accommodation, manipulation and adjustment,” added Menon.