Can The Gandhis Save The Congress?

While some believe the party could yet emerge the dark horse, others feel it has nothing much to offer its cadre or voters

- Jeemon Jacob

IN the upcoming Kerala assembly election, scheduled for April 6, the Congress appears to be locked in a battle for survival. Though the party has fielded 55 new candidates and pressed the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF (Left Democratic Front) government on multiple issues, observers say it has only just managed to fight its way back from ruin.

Recently, responding to a complaint filed by the Congress, the Election Commission ordered the state government to halt the distribution of food kits until polling has been concluded. Though this comes late in the day, it may limit how much public goodwill the LDF carries to the polls through this distribution of state resources. On a similar note, the Congress has been making much of a now-cancelled deal valued at several thousand crores between the Kerala Inland Navigation Corporation and EMCC International to develop a major corporate fishing unit which may have violated the state’s fishing policy and could have put the livelihoods of independent fishermen at risk. The party has also brought in its big guns—Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, as well as senior leader A.K. Antony—to target the LDF.