With no elections in the near future, mainstream political parties in Kerala are witnessing an organisational churning as never before in recent times.
Perhaps, the political narratives in the State changed with the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-led Left Democratic Front breaking the 40-year jinx of rotating power between the Left-led parties and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).
Amid the solid backing of the Central leadership, the newly emerged triumvirate comprising the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran, Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan and AICC general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal appear to be attempting to take over the reins of the Congress while Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is keenly focusing on generational transformation eliminating old guards in the CPI(M) with the beginning of party branch conferences by mid-September.
As for the BJP, the central leadership is awaiting an opportunity to shake up the faction-ridden State unit. At present, its national leadership is obsessive about Uttar Pradesh which is going to the poll early next year, even as it is still preoccupied with the debacle in West Bengal Assembly election.
P.K. Kunhalikutty during a victory celebration with IUML workers in Panakkad, Kerala. File photo
A bitter power struggle in the Indian Union Muslim League ( IUML) and its split away rebel faction of 25 years, Indian National League (INL), has already spilled into the open. The battle for leadership supremacy in the IUML has been happening since 2004-2005.
Unsurprisingly, much of the dissension now triggered by the replacement of the presidents of the District Congress Committees has poured out into public space followed by resignations, disciplinary actions and expulsions. However, the mutually-admiring troika has been emboldened to rejig the KPCC eclipsing the Oommen Chandy-Ramesh Chennithala binary that has been balancing the Congress party apparatus in the State for some time.
Unlike the Congress, the discord between factions in the CPI(M) owing allegiance to V.S. Achuthanandan earlier and the “Kannur lobby’, as dubbed by the media, does not normally come out of the closet. The ambiguity would be clear with the commencement of meetings at the branch, local committee, area committee, and district committee in September and October. Incidentally the 23rd party Congress of the CPI(M) will be held in Kannur in April 2022.
However, a stronger leadership in both the CPI (M) and the Congress is aiming at long-term perspective to assume control of the organisational structure. This would be seen in the changing profile of the leaders in the coming years.
Published - August 31, 2021 02:14 pm IST
