Who will lead the Congress and the ruling UDF it heads in Kerala in the Assembly election to be held in MayIJ Till a few days ago, the answer was crystal clear: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. But that situation has changed with the resignation of his staunchest loyalist K Babu as Excise minister the other day following a court order to register a case against him in connection with the bar bribery scam and other factors.
Observers are of the feeling that Chandy may not get the opportunity to lead the party and the front in the coming Assembly polls as his credibility and that of the faction he heads in the Congress have suffered a terrible beating thanks to the allegations against him and his loyalists over the infamous bar bribery and solar scams.
In this situation, it is only logical to assume that State Congress president VM Sudheeran who does not have a single charge of corruption against him till date may be given the responsibility to lead the party and the front in the polls. Moreover, his image as a relentless anti-liquor crusader can act as a plus for him in this matter.
There are several leaders in the State Congress itself who are not prepared to fully reject the Opposition’s allegation that Chandy is the fountainhead of the corruption revealed through the two scams. In such a situation, they feel that allowing Chandy to be the front’s leader in the Assembly polls could be counter-productive.
Babu, who resigned as minister on Saturday following an adverse court order in the bar bribery scam, is not just a Congress leader but is known as a keeper of Chandy’s conscience and a prominent leader of Chandy-led ‘A’ group of the party. In that context, many Congress leaders fear that it will not take long for Chandy to come directly in the focus of the bar bribery scam.
“That is not the only worry,” said a group-neutral senior Congress leader hailing from Kottayam, Chandy’s home district. “The judicial commission looking into the solar scam is most likely to file its report by April-end, just before the election. It is still unclear as to how this report is going to affect Chandy and therefore the party,” he said.
The Chief Minister’s name had come up several times in connection with the solar scam. Serious allegations were leveled against him by many of those who had deposed before the commission. If its report, to be filed just before the election, contains any findings or comments against Chandy, it could do huge damage to the UDF especially if he is leading it in the election.
As per the present leadership pattern of the Congress in Kerala, the next leader to be considered for the position of leader in the poll is Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, leader of ‘I’ group which is at perpetual war with Chandy’s ‘A’ group. However, even the strongest advocates of the “I” group are not sure about Chennithala’s capacity to lead the UDF in the polls.
Whistleblower in the bar scam, Biju Ramesh, had earlier indicated that the Home Minister was one of the Congress leaders who had taken bribe from bar owners. Also, Biju has threatened to make more disclosures about the scam during the election. In such a situation, neither the Congress nor its allies would have the courage to make Chennithala the poll leader.
The greatest advantage Sudheeran has, in contrast to Chandy and Chennithala, is his credibility both inside the party and in the State as a clean politician unblemished by allegations. Also, he enjoys the credit of forcing the Chandy Government to adopt a liquor policy which envisaged Prohibition in ten years and which led to the closure of all bars in the State.
Sources in most of the constituent parties of the UDF say that they are ready to support Sudheeran if he is chosen as the man to lead the front in the polls. There is a general feeling in the UDF that Sudheeran’s strong anti-BJP stand may be of immense use in checking the leakage of minority votes into the kitty of the CPI(M)-led lDF.