MLA Sunny Joseph; Rahul Gandhi
Credit: PTI Photo
The shake-up in the Congress leadership in Kerala is being widely considered as a surgical strike by the AICC ahead of the crucial 2026 assembly election as well as the local body election that are due to happen this year.
Representations to all prominent communities and generations, bringing to the forefront only those with proven electoral track records and a generation shift are the key highlights of the shake-up, which political observers even consider as a strong message to the groupisms that indeed played the spoilsport for the party in the 2021 election by conceding a defeat to the Pinarayi Vijayan led Left Democratic Front for the second time in a row.
If one has to find a fault with the shake-up, it could be only the lack of women representation.
Though there are criticisms that three time MLA Sunny Joseph, who has been made the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president, is an unfamiliar face among the masses, he has a proven track record with hattrick victory from Peravoor in Kannur and also a key political strategist for the Congress. His speeches in the assembly itself vindicate his political skills and also have a clean image.
The AICC seems to have given due credits for his skills while zeroing in on him even as there were reports that outgoing president K Sudhakaran preferred Sunny Joseph than Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony, who was another frontrunner.
"Sunny Joseph has now received a wider platform to use his capabilities. From his track record, it is quite certain that he will perform as he is widely regarded as a no nonsense person," said senior journalist and political observer Jacob George.
He also pointed out that it was crucial for the Congress to have a leader from the Christian community in the leadership especially since the BJP is making all out efforts to woo the Christian votes.
Attingal MP Adoor Prakash's entry as United Democratic Front (UDF) convenor not only helps in pleasing the Hindu-Ezhava community, the largest Hindu community in the state. Prakash is widely considered as a seasoned leader with skills to handle difficult situations. His victory from Attingal constituency in Thiruvananthapuram in this election is an instance as he defeated CPM's district secretary V Joy with a thin majority of 684 votes despite all out efforts by the CPM.
Similarly all the three new working presidents, MLAs A P Anilkumar and P C Vishnunath and Shafi Parambil MP, are also leaders with proven track records.
"It seems that merit has been the yardstick for this shake-up in the Congress and the AICC seems to have sent a strong message against groupism," said George.