Congress drives itself to corner

Kochi: The Congress logjam over the selection of its 90-odd candidates may or may not be resolved overnight, but KPCC president V M Sudheeran’s high-voltage campaign in the national capital against “tainted” ministers has reinforced the agenda for debate in the run-up to the elections.

The pradesh president, a nominee of the high command, has wiped out the last vestiges of doubt in the public mind about the veracity of allegations. What should the public make of it when Mr Sudheeran, who has laboured all his life to remain clean, smells a rat? Whether it was his personal animus against Excise Minister K Babu and Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash is beside the point. Or was it Mr Sudheeran’s stratagem to get at the skipper, Mr Oommen Chandy, by gunning for his ministers?

Mr Chandy perhaps fears as much. Or he would not have said that if his colleagues were to be kept out of the polls, branding them “tainted”, he would follow suit since he had also been painted by the same brush.    

The Opposition could not have bargained for a more opportune moment. The GOP itself grappled for days, unable to cut through the maze created by its own nominee about the candidate list.

Sources say Mr Sudheeran would not have ventured to push his agenda if he did not enjoy the blessings of Congress Working Committee member A K Antony. But this remains a mere conjecture because neither Mr Chandy nor his lieutenants are able to afford any confirmation.    

According to insiders, Mr Chandy had made it conditional to the high command that he would be in the fray only if names of his Cabinet colleagues are also cleared for contest. But the option rested with the high command. If it decided otherwise, he would not call it quits. Rather he would stay back and campaign for the party and the UDF, which he had led the past five years.

The Chandy camp was annoyed by Mr Sudheeran targeting Mr Babu, who had slapped a defamation case against Mr Biju Ramesh and waited on the latter’s convenience to vacate the stay and prosecute the case.

They suspect Mr Suheeran’s ultimate motive because he had not made an issue of the candidature of Kerala Congress chairman K M Mani, who had to quit at the height of the bargate.  

Political commentators say the UDF say the process of candidate selection in Congress has seldom been as outrageous. This, even after the rival CPM wrapped up its candidate line-up.