The manner in which the Congress high command has reconstituted the District Congress Committees indicates the shift in the leadership equations in the party in Kerala. There has been conscious attempt to strengthen Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala’s position as the next man in to guide the party in the coming years.
As many as eight of Mr. Chennithala’s nominees figure on the list of new DCC presidents who were inducted recently, leaving former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his supporters smarting. This is for the first time that Mr. Chandy has had to step back in the pecking order since becoming the undisputed leader in 2005-06 after the debilitating split led by the veteran K. Karunakaran. However, Mr. Chennithala will be on probation of sorts because he will be under pressure to deliver the goods in the next parliamentary elections in 2019.
The new moves make Mr. Chennithala the number one in the party at present going by the party’s tradition of the Congress Legislature Party leader running the show. The high command’s confidence in him will enable Mr. Chennithala to establish his credentials and strenghten equations with the other coalition partners, particularly the Indian Union Muslim League, which had expressed concern at the weakening of the Congress because of its inability to sort out its leadership issues. The social balance in the current revamp moves also gives Mr. Chennithala a comfort zone, something which Mr. Chandy did not enjoy.
The Sudheeran issue
After the UDF’s miserable defeat in the 2016 Assembly elections, Mr. Chandy was in favour of Mr. Chennithala being made the UDF chairman. He, however, did not bargain for a rough treatment by the high command during the reconstitution of the DCCs, which are considered the party’s backbone. Mr. Chandy had been arguing for organisation elections to select the new leaders, but the high command preferred the nomination route to ensure its hold on the State unit. Mr. Chandy’s main issue was with the continuation of V.M. Sudheeran as KPCC president since he holds the latter responsible for the Assembly election defeat.
The current setback to his faction is being directly attributed to Mr. Sudheeran. Mr. Chandy and his supporters have not reacted yet. Since Mr. Chandy continues to hold sway in the party, his moves would be keenly watched. Mr. Chennithala has already started consolidating his position, by leading several agitations in recent months under the UDF banner.
