KOCHI: As Kerala races towards the assembly election next May, the Congress is in a desperate eleventh-hour search for Dalit and tribal candidates. The scramble has laid bare a bitter truth: The party has failed to groom and promote leaders from the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, leaving itself exposed in 16 reserved constituencies (14 SC and two ST).
The shift from the past could not have been starker. Until the mid-1980s, the Congress was never short of stalwarts from backward communities. The likes of Vella Eacharan Iyyani, M P Thami, K K Balakrishnan, K Raghavan Master, Damodaran Kalassery, P K Velayudhan, K K Madhavan, T K C Vaduthala, Kittappa Narayana Swamy and Dr M A Kuttappan gave the party both legislative heft and grassroots presence. These leaders emerged not just as candidates, but as mass figures who commanded respect.
But as factionalism deepened in the late 1980s and ‘90s, Dalit and tribal representation shrank. “The main reason for the failure of Congress to promote SC/ST leaders was the endless feud between the ‘A’ and ‘I’ groups. It choked the rise of new leaders and created a vacuum that remains unfilled even today,” said political analyst Dijo Kappen.
That vacuum is now haunting the party. For decades, the leadership has relied on a handful of “safe” names — most notably Kodikunnil Suresh and Pandalam Sudhakaran. Kodikunnil, first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989, remains an MP, while Sudhakaran has held sway since his Wandoor debut in 1982. Both men have effectively blocked the entry of younger leaders, according to critics.
“Congress is finding no names beyond Kodikunnil and Sudhakaran. With issues clouding Remya Haridas as well, the party has only itself to blame,” remarked Ramesh Mathew, a former journalist and long-time Congress watcher.
Indeed, the bench is worryingly thin. The party has no ready replacements for the 16 reserved constituencies. Meanwhile, the CPM and the BJP are making visible efforts to cultivate Dalit and tribal candidates, intensifying the Congress’ anxiety.
A senior Congress source admitted the crisis, but insisted change was coming. “The AICC wants new names from fishermen, SC and ST communities, not the tired old set such as Kodikunnil and [T N] Prathapan. We have identified promising new faces, and there will be a visible generational shift in 2026,” the leader told TNIE.
Sources said Sajithamol, the widow of M G Kannan, who was vice-president of the Pathanamthitta District Congress Committee (DCC) and district panchayat member, who passed away in May this year. at the age of 42, will be among the Congress picks from the backward community for the assembly election.
The stakes are high. In the 140-member House, the 16 reserved seats can prove decisive. Losing ground on this front could cripple Congress’ chances of returning to power. Leaders like P R Sona from Kottayam — educated, with a doctorate, and active in community work — represent the kind of profile the party should have nurtured years ago. Instead, the neglect of grassroots Dalit leadership has left Congress scouring the state at the last minute for candidates with credibility, said sources.
The irony is stark. A party that once produced giants like K K Balakrishnan — who held multiple ministerial portfolios, including harijan welfare and transport — and Kuttappan, a staunch Ambedkarite who fought his way into the assembly despite factional sabotage, is today struggling to find even a handful of recognisable Dalit leaders.
As the countdown to the polls begins, Congress is discovering that decades of ignoring and sidelining its Dalit and tribal leaders cannot be wished away in a frantic candidate search. The past is catching up fast — and the party may pay a heavy price.