The newfound assertiveness of the KPCC chief stems from the green signal he claims to have received from the party high command for immediate party revamp. Sources close to the KPCC president say the High command has not prevented him from going ahead with the revamp, as is being made out by the Chandy and Chennithala groups. All that Congress president, Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president, Rahul Gandhi seem to have told him is to see that exercise does not result in ratcheting up intra-party tensions, affecting the party’s prospects in the local bodies’ elections.

But one thing is for sure. It would be wrong for Sudheeran to press on with immediate party revamp, now that he has the nod from the high command. The reason is simple: unless he has the cooperation of the dominant A and I groups led by Chief Minister Chandy and Home Minister Chennithala respectively, he won’t be able to carry out the reconstitution. And both the groups have already made it clear that they are in no mood for revamp before the local b odies elections. Their reasoning: a revamp before the local bodies elections will vitiate the agreeable ambience in the party now and create friction, spoiling the party’s electoral chances, which the group leaders say, are very good as of now.

As for the KPCC president, he is bent upon pressing on with revamp before the electoral test. Sudheeran says a reconstituted party will be in a better position to take on the combined might of the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front(LDF) and the saffron camp headed by a buoyant BJP.

And it is not as if Sudheeran is not without supporters. Among the active supporters of the revamp-before-polls idea is Congress MLA. T N Prathapan, who has appealed to the group leaders to back the KPCC chief’s move and Rajmohan Unnithala, a party spokesman.

In a way, the Congress High command must share part of the blame for the sorry plight in which the party’s Kerala unit finds itself in. It is the ambivalent attitude of the high command which has emboldened the A and I groups to dig in their heels to the detriment of the party. True, Rahul Gandhi has not made secret of his displeasure over groupism in the Kerala unit. But the AICC vice-president seems clueless on how to go about the task of dismantling groups. The High command must shed this ambivalence’; the earlier it does that, the better. Once the high command gives a firm order that groupism won’t be tolerated, the warring groups will fall in line, claim local Congress leaders who do not belong to any group.

The A and I groups are crowing over their ‘success’ at frustrating Sudheeran’s ‘sinister designs’. But it is clear that Sudheeran will stay his hand and lie low only till the local bodies elections are over. Once the polls are out of the way, the KPCC president can be trusted to take the battle to the enemy camp. After all, a Congress devoid of groups is an article of faith with him. And he would go to any length to realize his dream in the post-poll setting.

The tussle between Sudheeran on one side and Chandy and Chennithala on the other is nothing new. The fact of the matter is neither Chandy nor Chennithala have reconciled themselves to Sudheeran being made the KPCC president. They have only grudgingly accepted the decision as it came from the high command.

And, on his part, Sudheeran has not helped matters. His assertive style of functioning has angered both the dominant groups. What is more, the KPCC chief is on record that he has a right to express his opinion on the performance of the Congress-led government in Kerala, and that he won’t shy away from exercising that ‘privilege’. Two instances can be cited to buttress this point. Recently, Sudheeran forcefully intervened in the Consumerfed controversy by seeking the resignation of its chairman, Joy Thomas, a close confidant of Chennithala. Another controversy erupted when he strongly opposed the transfer of ADGPs Jacob Thomas and Tomin Thachankary from their respective posts as Commandant General of the Fire Force and Managing Director of Consumerfed. Incidentally, Thachankary is an Oommen Chandy acolyte. It is this assertive style of Sudheeran’s functioning which has enraged Chandy and Chennithala. They want a KPCC chief who is deferential to them. Sudheeran is in no mood to play ball with the duo. That is the basic reason for the frequent clashes between them.

How this tense drama will play out in the future is in the womb of time. But one thing can be said with certainty. The truce is uneasy, and will collapse at the first available opportunity in the post-local bodies polls setting. And that spells trouble for the Congress which has the daunting task of preparing for the state assembly elections due in May next year. (IPA Service)