THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The poll debacle has shattered the dreams of Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala to become the state’s next chief minister. When his fellow party leaders went on to become ministers in the UPA I and II governments at the Centre, he had stayed put in the state for a decade, strengthening the party. Even though Chennithala is considered the best opposition leader the state had ever seen, his dream remains elusive.
The writing was on the wall when television channels showed Chennithala walking up the stairs to the first floor of his home at Haripad, just half way through the counting of votes on Sunday. It was evident that a sullen Chennithala had accepted the defeat before the ‘Pinarayi wave’ posed by the ‘Captain’ of the LDF, against a paltry 41 seats won by the UDF, six seats lesser than what it had garnered in 2016.
There was a time when 64-year-old Chennithala had come under the wrath of the media and his opponents alike for his daily dose of press conferences during the outbreak of the pandemic. If the Covid-19 became a boon for the LDF, it was a bane for the UDF. When Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan met the people daily with his updates on Covid-19, they listened to him with rapt attention on the strides being made by the LDF government, especially on increasing the welfare pension and providing food kits.
For long, Chennithala had been strengthening his ‘I’ group by bringing in young blood compared to the old warhorses in the rival ‘A’ group led by Oommen Chandy. Already, a section has started baying for the blood of Chennithala and Congress state president Mullappally Ramachandran for the party’s dismal show. Their survival depends on the decision by the central Congress leadership.
It was the two group leaders who had played spoilsport in not revamping the district congress committees following the party’s poor performance in the civic body elections that proved crucial in the assembly elections. Now, what needs to be seen is whether the Congress will see a thorough overhauling right from the top to the bottom or not.
It was evident that a sullen Chennithala had accepted the defeat before the ‘Pinarayi wave’ posed by the ‘Captain’ of the LDF, against a paltry 41 seats won by the UDF, six seats lesser than what it had garnered in the 2016 assembly elections