As Kerala list gets ready, will there be fireworks in Congress?

Thiruvananthapuram: Leaders and ordinary party workers of the Congress in Kerala are watching eagerly as the list of candidates who will contest the April 6 assembly polls is being readied. Over the years the Congress party has been deeply divided in three and at times four factions led by leaders like Oommen Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala and Vayalar Ravi. When it comes to the selection of candidates, it's these faction leaders who have an edge and manage to get their candidates the party ticket. But of late, ever since Rahul Gandhi became a deciding factor, things started to change and at times he has put his foot down and slashed a few names these leaders came up with.

A senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity said Gandhi of late has been able to assert his authority, which has not gone down well with the faction managers here, but all know that there is not much point in dissenting. "Gandhi has the support of three-time former Chief Minister and Defence Minister A.K. Antony, who is in the good books of the Gandhis. Antony, for three decades till the late nineties, headed his own faction, which was led by Chandy. But since the turn of the century, he is not involved in any factional issues, but his opinion carries weight with the Gandhis. He literally acts as a watchdog, so none of the faction leaders gets away easily," said the Congress leader.

Even though if one looks at the electoral history in Kerala, no government has been able to retain power and this time, if the trend prevails, then the Congress-led UDF should form the next government when the votes are counted on May 2. But, though the UDF recorded a stunning victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by winning 19 out of the 20 seats from the state, complacency set in amongst its leaders and grassroot workers. "Despite Pinarayi Vijayan being caught in scams and scandals, for some reason they managed to hold on to the lead that they had in the previous local body polls in 2015, when the polls were held in December last year. That came as a shock to the UDF and Vijayan seized on that and has started the election campaign with the tagline, the Left is surely returning to power again, and this has sent shivers down the spines of practically every Congress worker. In a way, this realisation will only help the UDF, as all of them will work very hard for the April 6 assembly polls," added the leader.

The Congress party this time is expected to contest around 94 of the 140 assembly seats, leaving the rest to its allies and 22 sitting legislators have all been cleared. Already the first round of fireworks began when angry Youth Congress workers in Kollam district raised the banner of revolt after word went around that the Chadayamanagalam assembly seat, always contested by the Congress party, might be given to the Indian Union Muslim League.