The strong showing in the Thrikkakara Assembly byelection has prevented the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) from plunging into another predictable spell of spiteful disunity and public sniping between leaders.
The decisive win has, for now, prevented powerful intra-party factions from setting in motion their usual intrigues to undermine the leadership in the wake of a setback.
The “consoling” victory has also arguably ushered in a “temporary” truce and restored a semblance of unity in the party.
Nevertheless, there seemed to be a measure of bitterness in the Congress over attributing the victory to any single person.
The bypoll was the Congress's first significant endorsement from the electorate after its ignominious defeat for a second straight term in the 2021 Assembly elections.
“It is a victory of collective will and effort and not an individual’s triumph,” a senior leader had averred somewhat ominously.
The Congress hoped the win would help discourage the wave of “CPI(M) engineered” defections that hit the party recently and resist the Left Democratic Front’s attempts to wear down the Opposition by attrition.
CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s cryptic post-poll statement that the party should proceed with caution on major issues also magnified the aftershocks of the United Democratic Front’s resounding win, especially against the stark backdrop of “widespread resentment” against the SilverLine project.
The punishing defeat in Thrikkakara also rendered the CPI(M) deeply wary of a Congress revival. It prodded Mr. Balakrishnan to announce a granular review of the loss.
The victory has given a fillip to Congress's fortunes. The party is confident that it could put the brakes on the LDF juggernaut that had thundered through Kerala's political landscape in the past two Assembly elections and local body polls.
KPCC had seized the initiative in the by-poll campaign by naming Uma Thomas as its candidate, deftly sidestepping the usual intra-party wrangling that preceded Congress candidate selection.
It had pushed home the early bird advantage by vigorous grassroots level campaigning moored to livelihood issues. Organisational strength at the booth level helped script the victory.
However, whether Congress can maintain the momentum and repeat the win in future elections is a question that looms large.
