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Cong projects unity ahead of polls in Kerala with Tharoor and Chennithala in poll panel
Congress appoints Ramesh Chennithala and Shashi Tharoor to lead Kerala's election campaign, aiming for unity and to attract urban youth voters.
By appointing senior leader Ramesh Chennithala and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor as the chairman and co-chair of the election campaign committee in Kerala, the Congress is seeking to display a united front and dispel any rumours of factional troubles ahead of a high-stakes election in the southern state.
Having spent a decade in the opposition in Kerala, despite a robust organisational network and plenty of up-and-coming leaders, the Congress and the United Democratic Front (UDF) it leads are up against the LDF, aiming for a third stint in power under chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and a rising BJP.
Chennithala’s name did the rounds for the campaign committee chief’s post, considering his seniority in the local organisation and his good networks with community outfits like the Nair Service Society (NSS). Having spent years in a variety of party and parliamentary roles including KPCC chief, MLA, Leader of opposition, MP and Union minister, Chennithala (69) brings forth experience and insight and is key to the party’s electoral fortunes in the state. Along with VD Satheesan, the current leader of opposition, Chennithala is among the contenders for the chief minister’s post if the UDF comes to power.
The inclusion of Tharoor, a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and former Union minister, as co-chairman of the campaign committee indicates further thaw in the relations between him and the party. Tharoor, who had been sulking for months after reportedly not being given an active role in the party in his home-state, had recently met AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. Following the meeting, Tharoor had announced that he and the party are on the same page and that all issues were sorted. Tharoor’s speech in the Lok Sabha on the recent budget, where he hit hard against the Union government, was also a signal of his growing role within the party.
Even though Tharoor has remained restricted to his constituency of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, repeated surveys by agencies and local TV channels have reported that he remains extremely popular among the state’s voters, particularly among the urban and young sections. He has even routinely bagged a spot among the contenders for the CM’s post in case the UDF comes to power. By including him in the top election panel, the Congress seeks to utilize his appeal to wean away urban and youth voters from the CPI(M) and the BJP.
The other names on the campaign committee indicate a mix of old and new and the diverse backgrounds they come from. Vadakara MP and former Youth Congress chief Shafi Parambil is the Muslim face, while Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden hails from the Latin Catholic community which wields significant influence in central and southern Kerala. Mathew Kuzhalnadan, the MLA from Muvattupuzha, brings experience on policy matters while Deepthy Mary Varghese and former MP Ramya Haridas are the women faces.
The Congress also announced a manifesto committee to be headed by Chalakudy MP Benny Behanan with Kodikunnil Suresh as the co-chair. There are speculations that Behanan may be promoted as the temporary KPCC chief especially as current KPCC president Sunny Joseph is set to contest again in the elections from Peravoor. Dean Kuriakose and Jebi Mather, both MPs, are members of the manifesto committee.
J Prabhash, former political science professor at Kerala University, said the internal election appointments indicate a clear strategy to avoid disunity.
“Through Shashi Tharoor, the party hopes to attract voters who like him in Kerala. It shows that the party wants to field a united face and avoid any talk of a factional feud before elections,” he said.
