With the Lok Sabha elections in the horizon, Congress leaders in Kerala will seek to draw inspiration from their Karnataka counterparts, who successfully ousted the BJP government.
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), after a two-day conclave in Wayanad following the polls, said the Karnataka leadership showed extraordinary unity, focus, and dynamism. They skilfully avoided the BJP’s inflammatory agenda, choosing instead to zero in on ‘corruption’ of the government and tackle local issues head on.
However, party leaders say that mirroring the Karnataka strategy in Kerala is easier said than done. In Karnataka politics, there is only a thin line that differentiates the Congress, BJP, and Janata Dal (Secular) in terms of their shifting loyalties and tactics.
Despite factionalism in the Congress’ Karnataka unit, their apparent unity resonated with voters. Here, leaders are hardly on the same page on various issues, as they are more preoccupied with trying to outsmart each other, a senior party functionary say.
The unity displayed between the Leader of the Opposition of the Karnataka Assembly, Siddaramaiah, and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar, was instrumental in the Congress retaining power in Karnataka. Moreover, the party had the foresight to devise a strategic blueprint more than a year before the polls.
Planning absent
Party leaders say this level of strategic planning was noticeably absent within the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) during the 2021 Kerala polls, which arguably led to two successive defeats in the Assembly elections. The organisational set-up of the party in Kerala remains, even now, an unfinished chapter, sources say.
With the BJP doggedly pushing to carve out a space for itself in the State’s bipolar political landscape, the Congress faces another daunting task. Leaders say the influence of communal equations appears to have benefited the Congress party in Karnataka, while posing challenges for them in Kerala.
Christians’ support
Sources say the Christian community’s support for the Congress is largely nominal, and the Church has taken to communicating directly with BJP Central leaders. The Kerala Congress (M) is also allied with the Left coalition. While the Congress is in partnership with the Indian Union Muslim League, a segment of the Muslim community leans towards the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front. In Karnataka, the Congress won the trust of the Muslim community, thereby undermining the base of the JD(S).
Sources say that the KPCC has yet to take proactive steps to address balancing communal issues, particularly as the BJP strengthens its grassroots presence among the dominant Nair and Thiyya/Ezhava communities.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led alliance clinched 19 out of the 20 seats. If they wish to maintain this edge in the crucial 2024 polls, it is imperative for the Congress to pull out all the stops, leaders say.
