Congress struggling to finalise candidates’ list in Kerala

Infighting, bitter bickering mar the selection process

By P. Sreekumaran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Four days after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for the Kerala Assembly elections, the principal Opposition party in the State, Congress is struggling to finalise its list of candidates.

Unabashed group wars and bitter bargaining for seats have marred the candidate finalisation process to the chagrin of lakhs of party workers and activists. This is in glaring contrast to the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF)’s announcement of its candidates , within an hour of the ECI’s declaration of the poll schedule. Reports have it that the LDF candidates have already completed two rounds of campaigning, too!

Topping the list of senior leaders who are indulging in the internecine bargaining for seats is the party’s Kannur strongman and MP, K. Sudhakaran. Sudhakaran, who had raised the banner of revolt in the beginning has now ended his rebellion which he had initiated after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) denied permission to sitting MPs to contest the Assembly elections.

After four days of bitter bargaining and several rounds of talks with the party leadership, Sudhakaran announced that he would abide by the Congress High Command’s decision and not contest as an Independent. He had earlier threatened to contest as an Independent if the party denied him a seat. However, the details of the ‘compromise’ formula are not yet known. “I will continue to be a member of the Congress party. Just because I was denied candidature does not mean that I have been expelled from the party. I will contest only if the party allows me to. Else, I will not. I will visit every constituency and campaign for the party,” he said.

The four days prior to the finalisation of candidates witnessed high drama and unseemly spats for seats. At one stage Sudhakaran’s supporters went to the extent of staging a protest at Kannur over reports of denial of candidature to him.

The party high command, however, put its foot down. It flatly refused to succumb to his blackmailing tactics and stuck to the stand that sitting MPs will not be allowed to con test the Assembly polls. Besides, Sudhakaran, Adoor Prakash, who is the UDF convener and MP from Attingal, also wanted a seat for the Assembly.

Sudhakaran changed his mind after the intervention by senior party leaders A. K. Antony and Ramesh Chennithala. Antony requested Sudhakaran not to create problems for the party, which, he said, had a good chance to come back to power in the State. He might be having problems. But he should abide by the party decision. That was Antony’s advice to Sudhakaran. And the latter agreed albeit reluctantly.

The uneasy truce does not mean that the last word has been said in the matter. It, clearly, is a tactical withdrawal. The Congress has chosen T O Mohanan for the Kannur seat, who does not belong to the Sudhakaran camp. Will the Kannur MP campaign actively for a man who is not in his good books? Time alone can tell.

True, the Congress can breathe easy for the time being. But the unedifying spectacle of infighting has done incalculable damage to the Congress-headed United Democratic Front (UDF)’s credibility and reputation. The people’s anger against such factional feuds is bound to reflect in the final voting pattern. That is for sure. In a way, the Congress has scored a self-goal, true to pattern. The Congress committed political hara-kiri in Punjab, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh. Will it presided over the liquidation of the party in Kerala, the only state where the party thinks it has a reasonably good chance to wrest power from the LDF, as well? That is the million dollar question doing the rounds in political corridors.

It is not the Congress alone which is facing problems over selection of candidates. The second most important partner of the Congress in UDF, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), also saw strong protests from leaders who were denied seats. A prominent IUML leader and its state secretary Abdurahman Randathani made his displeasure known through a Facebook post in which he criticised the IUML leadership for choosing P. M. A. Sameer, financial director of Chandrika, the party’s mouthpiece, as the candidate in Tirurangadi. He withdrew the Facebook posts following a telephonic talk with IUML state president Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal. But the episode has left a trail of bitterness which will not subside overnight.

Likewise, two women candidates chosen by the party are said to be unhappy, too. True, the IUML did a good job by giving seats to women. But the much-lauded step towards gender equality lost its sheen as they have been fielded in two strongholds of the CPI(M)! It is an uphill task for the hapless women! The IUML leadership thinks that by fielding women candidates in Perambra and Koothuparamba seats, the party can win the seats. The calculation is that they party put up a good show in the local bodies election in both the constituencies. But Assembly election is a different ball game altogether. (IPA Service)