THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Will there be a D K Shivakumar effect in the Kerala assembly election as had happened in Telangana?
The question has popped up with the appointment of Harsha Kanadam, a protégé of the Karnataka deputy CM, as chairperson of the Congress state war room in Thiruvananthapuram to oversee its campaign and strategy formulation. It doesn’t mean Shivakumar will be directly involved in Congress’ election strategy planning, but there are enough straws in the wind that suggest the ace strategist’s possible deep involvement in the process.
“Shivakumar had played a pivotal role in the campaign and Congress’ subsequent return to power in Telangana,” a leader from Karnataka told TNIE. “He held no official positions, but was camping in Telangana to oversee the campaign and drawing up strategies. In the last Lok Sabha election also he helped the Congress in Kerala,” he said.
Of the five states going to polls next year — Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the high command pins high hopes on Kerala to wrest power.
Helping Congress wrest power 1st priority: Harsha
However, the disunity within the state leadership with a group of senior leaders eying the CM post has been a concern for some time. Harsha Kanadam would take charge after meeting the leaders at the war room in Delhi.
“My first priority is to help Congress wrest power in Kerala,” Harsha told TNIE. “We will be connecting to the people at the grassroots with technology. This will be done by taking into confidence local leaders and with the guidance of senior leaders. I will be accessible to all workers,” he added.
Harsha was an AICC observer in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi assembly elections. The Congress high command is of the opinion that unless the party came to power in maximum number of states, particularly in south India, its future would be bleak.