'We can't afford to fight each other.'
'We have to win the 2026 election.'
As the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala gave the impression that it had kept groupism and Shashi Tharoor aside came the leaked phone conversation of Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee President Palode Ravi.
In the phone conversation, Ravi spoke about the possibility of the CPI-M Left Democratic Front returning to power in 2026, the BJP gaining considerably and the Congress faring poorly due to infighting and groupism. Ravi predicted that the Congress would come third in local body elections.
The leaked conversation embarrassed the Congress immensely and resulted in Ravi resigning as DCC president.
How will this affect the Congress and the UDF?
"We had a meeting in Delhi recently summoned by the Congress president and Rahulji where we expressed our opinion on the preparation of the elections, etc," Congress Legislature Party leader V D Satheesan, who is also leader of the Opposition in the Kerala assembly, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.
"All of us, all the leaders, made it very clear that none of us is claiming for chief ministership. Nobody will fight against each other. We are only fighting together!!"
How will Palode Ravi's leaked conversation affect the Congress?
What was leaked was only a part of, rather a selected version of what he said.
We listened to the entire conversation.
He was reprimanding the person for the infighting that was going on in the local area. What he said was, if they went on fighting at the local level, it would be disastrous for the Congress party.
According to me, he was telling them about the repercussions such infights would have on the party. He was making them understand the impact their fights would have in the local body elections. It was a message to the party workers at the bottom level.
Somebody edited his conversation and released selected portions to the media.
What splashed in the media looked like he was talking about the party and his predictions on the future of the party.
Though he didn't do anything wrong, he chose to resign as the DCC chief because it became big news in the media.
He was a very good DCC president and was doing good work.
He resigned taking moral responsibility. He said, let youngsters take over and lead now.
Does that mean there is lack of unity at the bottom level and also at the top level?
No, that is not the conclusion. In all political parties, there will be some problems at the booth level or at the district level or at the mandalam level. That is inevitable.
There is a hierarchy in the party and based on that, they settle all these issues.
It happens in all the organisations, not in political parties alone. Such problems are there in offices too. It may there in your office also (laughs). That is not unusual.
But what we do is we move ahead solving such issues.
You are saying, even if there are problems, they can be solved?
Yes. We have proven that we are better than the so-called cadre parties in the recent by-elections.
In Kerala, the BJP is supported by the RSS, a cadre-based organisation. And the CPI-M claims that they have a better cadre set-up.
But in the by-elections, we have proved that we have a better cadre system than any other cadre parties in Kerala.
We proved that in Nilambur recently.
We at the UDF are a confederation of many parties. But everybody realises that we work as a team. That's why we are called Team UDF now.
When we are in the field, we work as a single party, which is Team UDF!
Team UDF will be a model for the coalition set-up for the entire country.
What about the rumours that within the Congress at the top level, there are still problems, and that there are many groups even today with many leaders aspiring to be the chief minister.
It is not true. We had a meeting in Delhi recently summoned by the Congress president and Rahulji where we expressed our opinion on the organisational set-up, preparation of the elections, etc.
All of us, all the leaders, made it very clear that none of us is claiming for chief ministership.
There are no chief minister candidates, including myself, because there is a procedure we follow in every state.
After the election, the AICC will send observers to Kerala and they will talk to every MLA. Then, the Congress president will declare the CLP leader.
So, right now, nobody is claiming to be the chief ministerial candidate.
I am the CLP leader now. I am also leader of the Opposition. I am not claiming that I am the CM candidate.
There is an internal arrangement in the party, and all of us will abide by that.
Nobody will fight against each other. We are only fighting together!!
For the first time in the history of Kerala, the LDF won consecutive elections. So, the coming election is very crucial for the Congress party.
Everybody has realised that. We cannot afford to fight each other.
We have to win the 2026 election.
Won't the people want to know who the chief ministerial candidate will be?
You know the procedure followed by the Congress party. We don't go to the election with a chief minister's face. We had not declared the chief minister candidates in any of the states during the election.
There is no need to do so in Kerala also.
What we have now is collective leadership though I am the CLP leader and the LoP.
We will fight the election as a team. We will share our ideas, and then come to a decision on all matters.
Yes, we have a galaxy of good leaders.
- Part II of the Interview: 'Kerala Is On A Ventilator'
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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