The Kerala High Court order exculpating K. Sudhakaran the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president from the conspiracy charges in a politically sensational case which was connected with a murder attempt on Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener E.P. Jayarajan aboard a train in Andhra Pradesh in 1995 has perhaps been timed politically to help this beleaguered Congress stalwart from Kannur.
To begin with, it forced senior leaders to rally around Mr. Sudhakaran despite their differences about his style of work and reorganization of the party itself.
This verdict is vindication of our stand that Mr Sudhakaran was victim of political conspiracy hatched by Communist Party of India (Marxist)[CPI(M)]. This statement was made by the Leader of Opposition V.D Satheesan.
As per Ramesh Chennithala, another senior Congress leader, CPI(M) had used this case as tool against Mr. Sudhakaran for 29 years tirelessly and he hoped more people would surely follow him.
It couldn’t have come at a better time for Sudhkaran; when Ramesh Chennithala managed to get “discontents” reinstated by M.M.Hassan and entered into KPCC headquarters Indira Bhavan with pomp, his rivals among leadership ran fast to lodge their complaints before High Command.
Several aspirants openly indicated their interest to vie for the position when it became uncertain whether Mr. Sudhakaran would return again as KPCC President.
In addition, several top leaders conspicuously absented themselves from Indira Bhavan during his second taking office indicating some organizational problems ahead for Mr.Sudhkaran.
Another reason is because Sudhkaran told us clearly that he will take the party upto 2026 Assembly elections.
Mr.Sudhakaran appeared also to have used the High Court order to project himself as a larger-than-life leader who had survived through an ordeal by fire, which is rarely seen in the KPCC hierarchy; this was at a very critical moment in his political career.
He also exploited the verdict against LDF. Sudhakaran presented himself as the victim of CPI(M)’s plot to decimate Congress party in Kannur.
Mr. Jayarajan refused to yield ground and said the State government would pursue the case in the Supreme Court while he shockingly claimed that it was primarily targeted at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and he was just an accidental recipient of their hatred.
