Dithering Congress takes wind out of UDF sails

KOCHI: Fatigue is written largely on the faces of Congressmen across the state, waiting for party president Rahul Gandhi to announce whether he would contest from Wayanad or not.

Even the UDF allies are disappointed over an impending anticlimax in the offing. There are diehard optimists, though, who argue that the spell of uncertainty precedes the grand announcement.  

But these Congress netas! They jumped the gun. Like children grabbing Santa Claus goodies, they went to town with the gifts. The gift of Prime Minister-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi contesting from Wayanad was too good, or is it destined to be ephemeral.

That is how it looked on Friday evening, given the intense lobbying launched by NCP boss Sharad Pawar and Sharad Yadav of Loktantrik Janata Dal with Rahul Gandhi against contesting from Wayanad. The argument: it would be an affront to the national secular line-up.

For more than a week, Congress leaders made themselves and many others believe Rahul’s new turf is Wayanad. AICC general secretary Oommen Chandy, PCC president Mullappally Ramachandran and opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, in group-wise hurrahs, vouched for Rahul’s southern sojourn.

For proof of the royal coming, they even banished the candidate, T. Siddique, from the campaign. He was only too happy to play along. Vacating the seat for future king is short-term pain and gain, long-term. Simple logic, poor UDF cadre also played along.

There were Doubting Thomases, though, who thought no Congressman or woman in proper senses would mess up battle lines, ranged between secularists and Manuwadis on the larger canvas. Why take on the Communists, who are on Rahul’s side at the national level and punch holes in the secular armour? These were sound posers. But the likes of Chandy and Chennithala were cocksure that the knight in shining armour would lead the battle against the Pinarayi camp, decimating the CPM and leaving the BJP running for cover.

These are passable as curtains going up on the once-in-five-year poll jamboree.  But the fact is that the Congress and its allies, early favourites, have by now lost a few points in overall popularity rating for slowing down a campaign that had begun late. They may not have another eureka moment this election and will have to earn by the sweat of their brow.

Yet it is intriguing why the soft-spoken Muslim League supremo Panakkad Hyder Ali Shihab Thangal plumped for Rahul even after Chandy and Chennithala prevaricated over what they had said more than a week back about Rahul’s candidature. The well-meaning Thangal must have thought Rahul’s presence would minimise leg-pulling among Congressmen. So the Thangal hoped against hope that Rahul would accept UDF’s unanimous invite.

As electioneering gathers steam, the Chandy group squirms in embarrassment; as he was the most vocal in assuring the cadre of Rahul’s candidature. The spell of uncertainty is bugging Congress campaign committee chairman K. Muraleedharan in Vadakara. He said the uncertainty would impact other seats though not his.  Mr Ramachandran, the KPCC president, is cooling his heels, blaming the CPM for landing the Congress in the current mess.

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