The Congress’ landslide in Kerala bypoll shows it can do, if it wants to

The landslide victory scripted by the Congress in the Thrikkakkara byelection last Friday should serve as an eye-opener to the party’s high command. The bypoll was necessitated by the demise of PT Thomas, who had been representing the constituency since 2011. Within days of the Election Commission announcing the bypoll schedule, the Congress announced the candidature of Uma Thomas, the spouse of late Thomas. Uma was no stranger to the constituency because she had been a companion to her late husband throughout his political career. The election itself had no other significance because the CPI(M)-led LDF with 99 members was in a commanding position in the legislature, which had an effective strength of 140. But Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who led the CPI(M) campaign through three weeks, declared that he wanted the LDF to score a ‘century’ by wresting the seat. The CPI(M), known for its virulent hatred for Hinduism, chose to play the Christian card in the election by fielding a hitherto unheard comrade, Dr Jo Joseph, a cardiologist working with the Lissy Hospital, owned by the Ernakulam Archdiocese. The name of the candidate was announced in the presence of senior priests.

The high-pitched campaign saw the entire CPI(M) machinery turning into ‘mission mode’ as each household in the constituency was visited by the comrades at least 15 times. What was the need for such a high-voltage campaign spearheaded by Vijayan in a constituency which always had been a Congress stronghold? The result shows that Vijayan and the CPI(M) have lost a good portion of public support which had catapulted the LDF to a massive win in the 2021 Assembly election. The arrogance of power and its intransigent attitude in not trying to understand the fallacy of the Semi-High Speed K-Rail have cost the Marxists a lot of public sympathy. On the other side, the new Congress State leadership, led by K Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition VD Satheeshan, succeeded in mobilising the party for the great showdown. The prompt selection of the candidate and the message the duo gave to outdated politicians that their time was up boosted the morale of the ‘grand old party’. The moral of the story is that the Congress alone can offer a viable alternative to the BJP, provided the former realises its own power.