The Kerala unit of the Congress has shown the way in taking unanimous decisions, and quickly

The decision of the Indian National Congress to field Uma Thomas as its candidate for the May 31 bypoll from Thrikkakkara appears to be a step in the right direction. The bypoll was necessitated because of the sudden demise of sitting MLA PT Thomas, who was a popular Congress leader in Kerala. Uma, herself a Congress worker, had shadowed her late husband and is widely respected as an environment and ecology enthusiast. What stands out is the promptness with which the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee finalised her candidature. The Election Commission of India had declared the poll schedule on Friday and the Congress high command approved Uma’s candidature by Tuesday evening. This is the first time in recent history that the Congress announced the name of its candidate well ahead of the date of filing nominations. The coordination and unity among the Congress leadership paved the way for the smooth selection of the candidate. The only name that came up for consideration was that of Uma, which was instantly approved by KPCC president K Sudhakaran, leader of the Opposition VD Satheeshan and top functionaries that include former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Other States have a lot to learn from the Kerala experience.

It is a fact that the Congress is suffering from internecine wars waged by various groups and subgroups. The Congress high command is engaged fully in resolving this internal warfare, leaving it with less time to plan election strategies. Every day, we read reports about faction leaders undertaking “pilgrimages” to 10 Janpath and the AICC headquarters with their bundle of woes. It is in stark contrast to the 1960s and 1970s when the Congress had regional satraps whose decisions were the last word in their respective States. The dithering and withering within the Congress started when the high command started nurturing groups against the officially appointed leaders. That was the era of leaders like K Kamaraj, Devaraj Urs, S Nijalingappa, N Sanjeeva Reddy, Biju Patnaik, VP Patil, SK Patil and YB Chavan, who were entrusted with the task of running the party in their regions of influence. The Congress now is a pale shadow of its old self because of the absence of such leaders. Let’s hope the high command notices the speed with which the Kerala leaders reached unanimity. Happy days are perhaps waiting for the ‘grand old party’.