Ostensibly, Sudheeran was summoned to the national capital to elicit his views on how to strengthen the party in the state, especially by attracting more sections of the people, in particular the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

But, in reality, the Delhi parleys are being interpreted as a clear expression of the Congress High Command’s anger over the sullied image of the Oommen Chandy Government and the steadfast refusal of Chandy and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala to heal the rift and work as a united team.

In fact, Rahul Gandhi made no secret of his displeasure at the turn of events in the wake of the solar scam in his meeting with both Chandy and Chennithala. He was particularly unhappy about their failure to rise above factionalism in the interests of the party both in the state politics and in the larger national matrix.

Rahul’s message was crystal clear: if you do not function as a united team with the crucial Lok Sabha elections a few months away, the high command won’t shy away from exploring other options. In other words, the Sonia-Rahul duo has started looking beyond Chandy and Chennithala in an obvious attempt to shore up the party’s electoral fortunes.

Kerala is the other southern state, besides Karnataka, on which the high command is pinning its hopes on for a decent tally in the parliamentary polls next year. A good performance by the state Congress is essential for the successful fruition of the party’s plans to retain power at the Centre. Anything that prevents realization of this objective would be unwelcome to the high command. Hence its efforts to look for options in Kerala other than Chandy and Chennithala. It is a fact accepted even by the Congress leaders that, unless there is a drastic change, the party would perform badly in the LS elections. Hence the desperate moves by the Sonia-Rahul duo for sprucing up the party’s and the party-led government’s image, if need be, with a leadership change.

It is against this murky backdrop that the meetings Sudheeran has had with both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul have to be viewed and its significance digested. And, not surprisingly, the meetings have raised anxiety levels in the Chandy and Chennithala camps. In his meetings, Sudheeran reportedly gave a candid assessment of the extremely serious and bad political situation the party and the UDF government is facing post solar scam. The very fact that Sudheeran had two meetings with Sonia and Rahul – Oommen Chandy had failed to get an appointment with the Congress president during his last visit to the national capital – is self-explanatory.

Sudheeran’s credentials for the top job are impeccable. He is one of the most respected Congress leaders in Kerala – next only to Defence Minister A K Antony. His performances as a former Speaker of the State Assembly and as former health minister are still talked about in highly appreciating terms in the state’s political circles. He has a clean image, unblemished by the whiff of any scandal or corruption. The only minus point – if it can be called that – is that he is not in the best of health, having undergone an angioplasty a few months back.

Two factors could influence the Congress high command’s decision on a leadership change in Kerala. First and foremost is the failure of Chandy and Chennithala to work as a united team despite repeated directives to do so from the top. The latest manifestation of the disconnect between the CM and the KPCC chief came in the meeting they had to discuss the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the judicial probe into the solar scam announced by the UDF Government. Ramesh virtually washed his hands of the affair by neatly tossing the ball back into Chandy’s court: the CM could take any decision he deems fit on the issue of including the CM’s office and the CM himself under the purview of the judicial enquiry. It was Ramesh’s way of voicing his unhappiness over the Chief Minister’s penchant for taking unilateral decisions without taking the party into confidence. You have made the bed, and you must lie in it. That was the crux of the crisp Chennithala message to Oommen Chandy,

Of equal importance is the letter Kerala Congress (Mani) vice-chairman and Government Chief Whip P C George wrote to Sonia Gandhi. The letter, which the Congress has dubbed as a blatant interference by the ally in the party’s affairs, said he had ample evidence against Oommen Chandy in the solar scam case and that he would produce it on demand. George also demanded that Chandy be replaced by a Congress leader, who is acceptable not only to the Congress but also to the allies. The ‘letter bomb’ has created panic in the Congress camp. Of course, a few UDF leaders have played the mediator between Chandy and George to effect a patch-up. But it remains to be seen how long the uneasy truce will last. George has proved through his words and deeds that he cannot be stopped from speaking out his mind. Therefore, he could soon be back to what he relishes doing these days: Oommen Chandy bashing.

Significantly, the KPCC president has refused to criticise George’s conduct and his letter to Sonia. All that he said in his interaction with the presspersons after a meeting with Chandy was that the issue would be amicably resolved through talks.

This is the background against which the Sudheeran-Sonia-Rahul talks have been held. Informed Congress sources say anything could happen in the days ahead. (IPA Service)