'Congress Has Many Capable Leaders In Kerala'

'Maybe this has created some minor issues which can happen in any party.'

If one were to say that the Congress in Kerala is in a leadership crisis, it is no exaggeration. There are far too many leaders in the state, and every leader has a 'camp' too.

And it is a well-known secret that one of the major reasons why the United Democratic Front suffered a humiliating defeat in the 2021 assembly elections was the functioning of these divided camps.

In a recent interview, the charismatic Thiruvanathapuram MP, Shashi Tharoor spoke about the divided house and his desire to be viewed as a favourable Congress leader in the state. Naturally it stirred a hornet's nest.

The repercussions of Tharoor's outspoken opinion (which he later refuted in a post on X) were so much that a constituent of the UDF, the Indian Union Muslin League's state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal called on the Congress to address internal leadership disputes in its Kerala unit.

"If someone is pointing out the mistakes you are making, you should take it the right spirit and move forward," Sayyid Munavvar Ali Shihab Thangal, president of the Muslim Youth League of Kerala. tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.

For the last few years, we have been hearing about the presence of so many leaders and their camps in the Congress party.
After an interview Shashi Tharoor gave in a podcast to a national daily, in Malayalam, the issue has become alive again.
How much do you think this will this affect the UDF's prospects in next year's assembly elections?

The Congress has many capable leaders in Kerala, and maybe this has created some minor issues which, of course, can happen in any party. It is but natural for any party to have such debates and discussions before any election.

The fact is, when there are many strong and capable leaders, every one of them can contribute a lot to the alliance and the party.

We are confident that the Congress will sit together and solve the issue of leadership.

We are also confident that everyone will come together and work together as a single unit to bring the UDF back to power.

For that to happen, the UDF will elect a leader unanimously also.

The IUML state president also reacted after Tharoor said if things continued like this, the Left Democratic Front would come back to power in 2026.

It may be his concern. In every party, leaders will air their concerns.

We have to take such opinions in a positive way. If someone is pointing out the mistakes you are making, you should take it the right spirit and move forward.

We are very sure that the Congress will solve the leadership issue amicably.

IUML is a partner in the UDF. How will you make the Congress realise that the presence of too many leaders and their camps was a reason why the UDF lost the last assembly election?
That was the first time in Kerala's political history that a government was re-elected...

The welfare politics at the time of Covid was a major reason why the LDF won again. Everybody knows that too.

It is also a reality that the government was able to help people a lot at that time.

When people are in such a frame of mind, it is but natural for them to vote favourably for the incumbent government.

This is what we believe in. We don't believe that people voted the LDF back because they ruled better.

We also don't believe that the so-called camps in the Congress resulted in the loss of the UDF.

We see 'too many leaders' in a party as a positive thing.

We have always chosen the most eligible person as the leader to lead the alliance.

The next election before us is the panchayat election. And our agenda is to win it. We have regular discussions on the strategy to adopt by the alliance.

After that only, we will start thinking about the 2026 assembly election.

There is talk that Hindu votes are going away from the UDF to the BJP. The BJP is also wooing Christians in a very strong way...

We don't think such a thing is happening in Kerala. We are sure our votes will remain with us, and nobody will be able to take our votes away from us.

The UDF does not have to use the communal card to ask for votes.

Using communal card is the tactic used by the BJP.

We believe in inclusivity. We will take everyone together irrespective of their religion or caste.

People of Kerala know very well that the UDF will not use the communal card, and they trust us also.

I can confidently say that not a single UDF vote will go the communal way.

Last time, did the Christian votes not get transferred to the BJP?

It is not that parties do not try to win over communities. Both the CPM and BJP try to do that.

But the people of Kerala will not get swayed by such communal tactics.

So, the IUML is not worried about the UDF's prospects in the next election?

We are not worried at all. Why should we be worried?

It is clear that the people of Kerala are totally fed up of the LDF rule.

Majority of the public is disillusioned with the LDF, and they definitely want a change of rule.

For that to happen, don't you think the UDF needs a strong leader like Oommen Chandy or K Karunakaran or A K Antony?

UDF has a strong leadership even today. There is no dearth of capable leadership in the UDF. We have to look at this aspect in a positive way and move forward.

If we have many candidates with strong leadership qualities to choose from, on their side, they only have one Pinarayi Vijayan!

At the time of the election, we will make the people of Kerala understand that we will be able to give a strong administration under a capable leader.

Believe me, it is going to be the times of the UDF hereafter.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com