The wily politician that he is, Chandy has so far refused to succumb to the pressure to contest the Lok Sabha elections in the State. Chandy supporters are unhappy because they feel that it is a concerted effort to keep Chandy away from the State, his area of action for over four decades. The strategy is to reduce the stranglehold of groups on the Congress organization in the State. Chandy and leader of the opposition Ramesh Chennithala head the two prominent groups in the state party known as the A group and the I group respectively.

There is a delicious irony to the High Command strategy. It is attempting to project a leader who had fallen from grace following the crushing defeat the UDF suffered in the last assembly elections, and much before that over the infamous solar scam.

To the chagrin of Chandy, the AICC in charge of the State, Mukul Wasnik has also piled up pressure on him to contest the Lok Sabha elections, of course, with the nod from the Congress president.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, Mullappaly Ramachandran, another Rahul Gandhi loyalist, has lent his full support to the send-Chandy-to-the Lok Sabha mov. Winnability is the sole criterion for candidate selection, and Chandy is a candidate who can win from any constituency from the State, he claimed!

What remains to be seen is how the political drama will play out. Can Mullappally succeed where VM Sudheeran, a former KPCC chief failed? That is the question doing the rounds in Congress corridors these days. It may be mentioned that Sudheeran had attempted an oust-Oommen Chandy move with the blessings of the Congress High Command but dismally ailed owing to stubborn resistance from Chandy and his supporters.

But times have changed since then. Rahul had not become the party chief then. Now he is in full control. His stature and clout has increased manifold in the wake of the Congress’s victories in Rajasthan, Madhya radish and Chhattisgarh assembly elections. That being the ground reality, Chandy will have to obey the High Command fiat this time around.

Meanwhile, the rumblings within the UDF over seat allocation have become loud and strident. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second most powerful constituent o the UDF, has sprung an unpleasant surprise on the Congress by hinting at the possibility of demanding a third Lok Sabha seat for the party. Left to itself, the IUML leadership would have refrained from pressing its claim. But it is under pressure from the Youth League, the youth wing of the party, and the Samastha, which is the main backer of the IUML. The IUML has every right to demand a third seat, given its influence and strength, especially in Malappuram district in particular and in other districts of Malabar as well, assert the Youth League.

The Congress leadership has ruled out a third set for the time being. But it is evident that the last word on the issue has not been said. If the past record is anything to go by, the Congress leadership in the State will yield to the IUML’s politics of brinkmanship. (IPA Service)