Karnataka victory a boost at the right time for the Congress in Kerala

The thumping victory in the Karnataka assembly elections against the BJP has come as a boost at the right time for the Congress in Kerala as a leaders' meet of the party held last week had chalked out the simmering differences among the party leaders and declared that BJP will be the main opponent.

While the Congress leadership in Kerala already decided to take a leaf out of the Karnataka election strategies, party sources said that the service of election strategist Sunil Kanugolu, who played a key role in Congress's victory in Karnataka, would be used by the party in Kerala also.

Congress camps are also hopeful that the party's thumping victory in Karnataka would weaken BJP's Christian outreach initiatives in Kerala as a general impression that Congress was becoming irrelevant had gone with the Karnataka election outcome.

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Kerala PCC president K Sudhakaran said in a letter to the party workers on Sunday that the Karnataka elections had proved that no party had the strength to defeat the Congress if it stood united. He urged all party workers to consider the party's strategies in Karnataka as a model and said that the party should ensure the victory in all the 20 seats in Kerala in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

A party source said that the service of election strategist Kanugolu would be roped in for Kerala also. Incidentally, while the commission allegation was a key campaign against the BJP government in Karnataka, the Kerala government is also facing similar allegations.

Party sources also said that the church heads in Kerala were trying to be closer with the BJP and the CPM as they felt that the Congress was becoming irrelevant. But with the Karnataka elections proving that the Congress is still very much relevant, the former may now think twice before making anti-Congress stands. The Congress is also in the process of reviving its rapport with church heads by bringing in some leaders from the community to leadership positions in the party.

The decision at the leaders' meet of the Congress held in Wayanad last week to consider the BJP as the main opponent and project secularism was also considered as a strategy to strengthen the rapport with minority communities.

Political analyst Jacob George said the Karnataka election has sent a clear message that raising genuine issues of the state could deliver results, and hence the Congress leadership in Kerala should also come out with such strategies. He also said that BJP's defeat in Karnataka would obviously weaken BJP's Christian outreach efforts in Kerala.