Sudheeran fires first salvo as party undergoes leadership change in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress party in Kerala, which saw a change of leadership earlier this week, has a long history of airing its internal differences in public. True to form, the first critical voice has come from one of its tallest leaders, V.M. Sudheeran — a former state president, Minister, Speaker, and Lok Sabha MP.

Sunny Joseph, a three-time legislator and the son of a farmer, has been appointed as the new president of the Congress party’s Kerala unit.

Expressing his displeasure on Wednesday, Sudheeran revealed that the party high command had convened a meeting of former state presidents to discuss the leadership transition and chart a future course. However, he could not attend the meeting in Delhi due to prior commitments.

“If the discussion had taken place before the changes, it would have been better. I had informed them that I wouldn’t be able to attend the meeting as I had pre-scheduled engagements,” Sudheeran said.

The meeting in Delhi, which spanned two days and concluded on Wednesday, saw no participation from any of the former state presidents in discussions with Sunny Joseph’s team and the party high command.

Sudheeran, 76, has had an eventful political career spanning the Lok Sabha and the Kerala Legislative Assembly. He earned praise for his tenure as Health Minister and as Speaker of the Assembly.

He rose to prominence in the early 1980s as a staunch supporter of A.K. Antony. Alongside Oommen Chandy, Mullappally Ramachandran, and M.M. Hassan, he formed the core of the erstwhile Antony faction, which opposed the dominant group led by K. Karunakaran.

Known for his upright image and principled politics, Sudheeran withdrew from electoral contests after a shock defeat in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Alappuzha. Though he stayed away from frontline politics, he often took on the role of a conscience-keeper, unhesitatingly criticizing his own party when it deviated from its ideals.

In 2014, amid another bout of internal conflict during the Chandy-led government (2011-2016), the high command surprised many — including Sudheeran himself — by appointing him the state party president.

A political observer, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that the relationship between Chandy and Sudheeran soured over the liquor policy in the later years of Chandy’s government.

“Everyone knew that their open acrimony was one of the key factors behind the Left Democratic Front’s landslide win under Pinarayi Vijayan in the 2016 Assembly polls. The Congress hasn’t fully recovered since. Veterans like Sudheeran, Ramachandran, and Hassan must understand that while their plain speaking stems from principle, it could further deepen the party’s troubles,” the political observer said.

Reacting to the absence of former state presidents at the Delhi meet, senior legislator and former party president Ramesh Chennithala downplayed the issue, saying it should not be blown out of proportion.

IANS