Koch, 28 October (HS): K Karunakaran, former chief minister of Kerala, was known by the moniker “Leader”. His followers and foes addressed him as “Leader” and he enjoyed being addressed like that. After his demise, there were no persons in the Congress who could match his stature and the position of Leader remained vacant. Now, the followers of Ramesh Chennithala, a former party MP and former minister in the UDF Government is being portrayed as the new Leader by his followers and fans.

A recent bereavement in Chennithala’s family (the passing of his mother) saw his followers flooding the social media pages with the sobriquet “Leader” to describe him. “Leader RC” is the new watchword for eulogising Ramesh Chennithala. Followers of Chennithala ensure that his name is printed as Leader RC in all hoardings featuring other top guns in the Congress.

The timing of this development is important as the State is getting ready to go to polls in early 2026 to elect the new legislative assembly. There are at least a dozen bigwigs in the Congress vying for the chief minister’s chair.

The prominent among them are K C Venugopal, MP and strategic guru to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, K Muraleedharan, son of late Leader Karunakaran, V D Satheeshan, leader of opposition in the present assembly, Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan, former minister, K Sudhakaran immediate past president of KPCC and Shafi Parambil, MP.

“Chances of Parambil making it to the top job at this juncture look bleak because of the tag Islamic fundamentalist,” said a senior KPCC leader on condition of anonymity. Though Shashi Tharoor MP, was a contender for the job, he has fallen out with the Sonia Gandhi family and is out of contention.

“Leader RC has wide acceptance among the Kerala electorate including the Nair Service Society and the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, the social outfit of the powerful Eezhava community. In fact he is the only leader to be supported by Vellappalli Natesan, the general secretary of the SNDP and G Sukumaran Nair, general secretary of NSS,” said a senior functionary of the Congress party.

For the realization of Leader RC’s dreams, the party has to win the 2026 assembly election with considerable majority. The Muslim League is waiting in the wings to occupy the chief minister’s gaddi in the event of a fight between Congress leaders. P K Kunhalikutty, the all India General Secretary of the Muslim League has been suppressing his dreams to become the chief minister for decades and as time is running out, he is feeling that the time has come to play his stakes out.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti