THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Oommen Chandy was a wise warrior who always avoided political battles and relied on his tactics to force his adversaries to kneel down before him. Whether his fight was with his own friends in Congress or with the main political opponent CPM, in his book Chandy had one answer - avoid bloodshed at any cost and when least expected.
In other words, he was the one who used Mao Zedong’s tactics of ‘one step forward two steps back’ in parliamentary politics better than the Leninist CPM.
Chandy won every political war in his decades-long career by rallying the masses behind him. Even the powerful Congress high command was forced to bend before his charisma and influence over party workers and masses.
Chandy had two faces. One, that of an absolute gentleman in Kerala politics, and second, that of a shrewd politician. When controversies shook the Congress party and state politics, he showed his true colours. However, he never indulged in any activity in his capacity as chief minister or mass leader that severely hurt his opponents.
K Karunakaran was the only exception. In that sense, Chandy was a clean politician. He single-handedly, with the aid of his right lieutenants, built A group and presented A K Antony, the leader just opposite Karunakaran. That ultimately led to the fall of Karunakaran in 1995. If there was no Chandy to fight for Antony and to take the blame of group politics there would not have been A K Antony- the honest politician and the chief minister.
He stood by Antony when the latter decided to switch allegiance to the Left Front in 1980 and later rejoined the Congress. His close relationship with Antony started in the 60s, when Antony was selected as KSU president and Chandy the state general secretary. However, later in 2004 when Antony stepped down as CM because of external and internal politics, Chandy maintained good relations with the former.
Chandy was a CM who had to face many political storms in his tenure as CM within and outside his front. In his first tenure as CM, the revelation in the ice cream case against Muslim League leader P K Kunhalikutty shook the government. Although Kunhalikutty was forced to step down, Chandy stood firmly behind him till the end.
His ability to stand for those who were with him even at the cost of his interest made him a stalwart in Congress party after K Karunakaran.
Chandy faced the biggest test in his political life when he led the UDF government with a majority of two seats in the wake of controversies that erupted from within the party and staunch attacks from the-then leader of the Opposition V S Achuthanadan. VS’ attacks often trespassed all moral limits, piercing into the heart of Chandy. But when VS was cornered by his own party and allegations were raised against his son, Chandy acted with the utmost decorum.
His surgical strike over the CPM came soon. When CPM was claiming that the government was sustaining owing to their kindness, he single-handedly pulled off CPM MLA Selvaraj into the Congress fold. That was a masterstroke CPM did not want to remember for many years. When the bar bribery allegations erupted within the front and Congress, which ultimately led to Kerala Congress (M)’s decision to leave the UDF, it was Chandy who tried to prevent it.
Although the popular narrative was that it was Chandy who was the master brain behind the corruption charges, Mani knew that the former was innocent. The solar case tested the politician and statesman in Chandy alike.
At the same time, the solar case revealed the weakness of the Opposition LDF and how a shrewd politician uses the opportunities that come before him. His decision to present himself before the solar commission was a rare moment in state politics.