THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Veteran Congress leader AK Antony’s majority appeasement statement is turning out to be a double-edged sword for the party. Though the state Congress leadership has endorsed the statement, the IUML, the second largest partner in the UDF has responded with a loud silence. Antony had on Thursday said those going to temples or applying tilak on the forehead should not be sidelined.
Since Antony is known for his ground-level knowledge, his supporters and opponents agree that the statement is a calculated move. Those who know him say that statement had nothing to do with national politics.
“He had in fact intervened and showed the dismayed state Congress leadership a path to be chosen for the 2024 parliament election”, said a leader close to Antony. “Congress had lost a considerable majority community votes in the last assembly election. If Congress fails to win back the same, it would be a political tragedy for the party,” he said.
Earlier in the UDF, the Congress was tasked with winning majority votes while League was expected to capitalise on the Muslim minority votes and Kerala Congress the Christian votes. However with KC(M) moving to LDF, the front suffered setbacks. Moreover, the CPM had also made inroads into the Muslim community votes. In the last Assembly election, a section of the upper caste-upper class combination which was the backbone of the Congress vote base shifted to CPM and BJP.
However, a section in Congress and UDF is wary of the repercussions. According to them, the statement is as much a boon as a bane. Earlier, when Antony made similar majority-appeasing statements twice, the UDF had suffered electoral setbacks.
But Congress leaders dismissed the charges and pointed out that Antony’s statement had not alienated the Muslim minority from the League. The League knows that Congress is its only option both in national and state politics. “Antony’s statement will not create any hustle in the minority community,” UDF convener M M Hassan told TNIE. “League knows that what Antony said was that by raising minority issues you cannot create apprehensions among the majorities,” he said.
So far the CPM had successfully resisted attempts by V D Satheesan and K Sudhakaran to connect with the majorities. Hence the Congress sees an opportunity in Antony’s remark. They calculate that with Antony’s stature, CPM and Pinarayi Vijayan will find it difficult to defend.
However, the CPM does not see any sudden threat with Antony’s statement. Instead the party sees an opportunity to raise the difference between faith and communalism. “CPM is not against faith and believers,” CPM state secretary M V Govindan told TNIE. “There is nothing wrong in going to temples or applying tilak on the forehead. But Antony’s statement is like an external treatment of the skin. Antony should make clear what’s their ideological position in the fight against communalism,” he said.
The Congress wants to recapture the upper caste-class votes it lost in the last election. The Antony remark is also an attempt to prevent anti-CPM majority votes from going to BJP. The BJP had maintained a steady vote share of 12-15% in the state. The BJP knows that unless it goes up to 20%, the party has no scope in electoral politics. By realising Antony’s tactic, the BJP has decided to question Congress on its credibility towards Hindutva.