Thiruvananthapuram Nov 15 Reeling from its crushing defeat in Bihar, the Congress appears to have found a strategic reset in Kerala with a renewed realisation within the state leadership that the party can no longer afford factional warfare if it hopes to return to power after two consecutive Assembly poll defeats.
Senior leaders in the state, sources say, now agree that unless internal differences are buried once and for all, the Congress risks remaining in the Opposition for a third straight term.
Factional divisions have long defined the party’s organisational culture in Kerala — first during the era of K. Karunakaran and A.K. Antony, later through the Oommen Chandy-Ramesh Chennithala camps, and now through the split between Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan’s group and the rival bloc led by former state unit chief K. Sudhakaran.
Hovering over both camps is a powerful third axis, of Congress General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal, whose influence in the state unit is widely acknowledged.
The 2021 Assembly election was a turning point, when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan scripted history by leading the LDF to a second consecutive mandate.
Since then, the Left has aggressively built a narrative that Vijayan is poised for a third term as well — a claim Congress leaders privately admit cannot be countered unless the party presents a united front.
The Bihar drubbing, however, has shifted the equations.
As Congress’s national organisational secretary, Venugopal is perceived to have suffered the sharpest political setback.
A political observer told IANS that Venugopal, until now seen as the most powerful figure shaping the Kerala unit, will face intensified scrutiny.
"Had the Congress done well, his clout would have grown further. For months, the message within the party was clear: if you are not aligned with Venugopal, things will be difficult. But the Bihar defeat changes the mood," the observer said.
With the two-phase local body polls underway and the assembly elections scheduled for April–May, leaders now view the Bihar verdict as a wake-up call.
Many believe the setback could become a "blessing in disguise" for the Kerala unit, forcing warring factions to introspect, recalibrate, and finally move toward cohesion at a defining political moment for the party.
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