Can Sudhakaran revive Congress in Kerala?

The million dollar question on the lips of those who follow Congress politics in Kerala is - can Kannur strongman K Sudhakaran who assumes his office as the new state Congress party president on Wednesday morning, revive the party's fortunes in the state?

The Congress party is going through its worst ever crisis period, ever since it was humbled by the Pinarayi Vijayan government in the April 6 assembly polls, when he single handedly retained power, a thing that has not happened in the state, for a long time.

Sudhakaran is presently the Kannur Lok Sabha member and was also a former State Minister in the AK Antony cabinet (2001-4) and is one personality which the CPI-M in the state especially in Kannur dread, his bold styled approach, which is uncommon among Congress leaders in the state.

A media critic on condition of anonymity said it's not going to be easy for Sudhakaran, if you look into his predecessors and the way they ran the show. "All know that Congress politics in Kerala has always been cantered around factions and his immediate two predecessors - VM Sudheeran and Mullapally Ramachandran never got the full support of the faction managers - Oommen Chandy and outgoing Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and to a large extent, it was the primary reason for them to have an early exit," said the critic. "But one difference between those two and Sudhakaran is the latter is not a push over personality and that's best known to the CPI-M in Kannur. Even his detractors will admit, had it not been Sudhakaran, the party would have been wiped out in Kannur. So things will unfurl, once Sudhakaran hits the road for reviving the party," added the critic.

Sudhakaran, though not the choice of the Chandy-Chennithala combine, has gone on record to say that he will do nothing on his own and will always take the advice of the two before he makes any major changes to the style and functioning of the party.