THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress election victory in the neighbouring state of Karnataka has come as a much-needed shot in the arm for the Kerala unit of the party. It is also a feather in the cap of senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala and Shashi Tharoor, who were featured in the party campaign. At a time when both of them are eyeing a CWC berth, the outcome could prove crucial.
Indira Bhavan, the state party headquarters, was witness to major celebrations on Saturday as firecrackers were burst to celebrate the Karnataka mandate. Local party workers also took out a two-wheeler rally. For PCC chief K Sudhakaran and team, the verdict comes as a confidence booster. The happiest of the lot is Chennithala, who had camped in Karnataka for two weeks. His campaigning focused on the coastal areas, Mangaluru and Bengaluru — which have sizable Malayali populations.
Chennithala said the victory in Karnataka has proved the Congress can take on the BJP and Rahul Gandhi can take on against Prime Minister Narendra Modi effortlessly. “This victory is a prelude to the 2024 Lok Sabha election, which will see a Congress-led government coming to power at the Centre. This is a mandate for Rahul Gandhi to take on Modi,” Chennithala told TNIE.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, national secretary in-charge of Karnataka P C Vishnunadh and Mathew Kuzhalnadan were the other leaders from the state who campaigned in Karnataka. Satheesan said the result would reflect in the next election in Kerala, in which “the LDF government will also bite the dust.”At a time when party workers are a worried lot over the inordinate delay in revamping the organisation, which in turn is setting back preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Karnataka victory has reassured them of Rahul Gandhi’s increased prominence on the national scene.
For inspiration, Sudhakaran can definitely look to his Karnataka counterpart D K Shivakumar, whose relentless two-year campaign has paid dividends. Sudhakaran maintained that it’s a victory for Kerala, too. “The Malayali diaspora in Karnataka rallied behind the Congress. The campaigning by Congress leaders from Kerala was a meticulous affair. Kerala is hence obviously elated and the party has also imbibed a few lessons from the Karnataka outcome,” he said. The BJP has now been wiped out from South India. The verdict has given hope to democratic and secular forces in the country, Sudhakaran stressed.
Veteran Congress leader A K Antony termed the outcome as a setback to BJP’s vendetta politics. Talking to reporters at Indira Bhavan, he exuded confidence that if all secular forces joined hands, the Modi regime can be wiped out in next year’s general election. “The BJP is going to receive a series of setbacks in the coming days. If secular forces rally together, the Congress can defeat anyone,” said Antony.
The CWC leader, who always sets the poll narrative through his political statements, said the election mandate is a message for Kerala as well. “Karnataka is just the beginning. It’s the prelude to 2024. This is definitely a huge setback for PM Modi,” he said. The veteran, however, refused to comment about his son Anil Antony, who had recently joined the BJP.