Congress in Crisis: The KPCC Throne and the Power Struggle

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress party in Kerala has once again proven that when it comes to leadership drama, few can match its flair. At the heart of the current storm is KPCC President K Sudhakaran, who now appears to view his position not as a political assignment, but as a lifetime achievement award.
This isn’t K Sudhakaran’s first dance with expulsion threats from the KPCC—it’s more like a long- running soap opera where every episode ends with, “Will he be thrown out? Tune in next week!” But the real reason the AICC keeps delaying the big goodbye is simple: they're terrified he’ll do a dramatic mic drop and land straight into the BJP’s arms, just in time to cause maximum damage before elections. After all, this is the same man who once proudly declared he protected RSS shakhas from destruction and even hinted he’d be happy to join the BJP if they just asked nicely.
The internal power struggle within the party is nothing short of chaotic. With the next assembly elections still far off—and victory even further—the Congress is already locked in a tug -of- war over leadership and influence.
On Sunday, with cameras rolling and journalists summoned like guests to a royal audience at Indira Bhavan, Sudhakaran declared war—not on the BJP, but on anyone daring to suggest he step down. “If the High Command wants to remove me, would they invite me to Delhi?” he asked, seemingly forgetting that Delhi has often summoned leaders just before their political execution.
He told the media he would resign “if asked,” but his every move over the past week has clearly been designed to avoid exactly that. While claiming readiness to step down, he launched a full-blown rhetorical assault to ensure no such request ever arrives.
Meanwhile, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) seems to be thinking otherwise. Deepa Dasmunshi, the party's General Secretary in charge of Kerala, has reportedly submitted a report to the High Command recommending Sudhakaran’s removal. The report highlights growing discontent within the KPCC, whispers about Sudhakaran’s health, signs of internal sabotage, and the increasing irrelevance of the current leadership.
Enter V D Satheesan and his band of rebels, allegedly urging Deepa to bring in new blood—ideally in the form of Anto Antony.
Anto Antony—the supposed saviour of the KPCC, allegedly backed by certain Christian clergy who, according to Sudhakaran, seem to moonlight as Congress strategists. Sunny Joseph is also in the running, completing what looks like a religious representation bingo card. But Sudhakaran isn’t buying it. “If they represent Christians, who represents Muslims?” he asked—perhaps suddenly remembering that Congress once stood for secularism, or at least a broader sense of representation.
Not content with identity politics, Sudhakaran also took a detour into medical science. In response to health-related rumours, he declared, “There are medicines to treat diseases.” While factually correct, it’s not exactly the kind of leadership reassurance the party was hoping for. He dismissed these rumours as baseless and accused rivals within the KPCC of spreading them to undermine him.
The drama escalated further when posters bearing the slogan “Save Congress” appeared in Aluva, attacking both Anto and Sunny. Because, of course, nothing says party unity quite like anonymous street warfare.
Sudhakaran, for his part, blamed the media for fueling speculation about his ouster. “I spoke with K C Venugopal,” he said, “and we discussed leadership changes—in other states.” Apparently, Kerala is the magical exception, immune to any kind of internal restructuring.
He even agreed with K Muraleedharan’s thinly veiled jab that party presidents should at least be recognisable in photographs. “He’s right,” said Sudhakaran, thus proving that irony remains alive and well in Kerala politics. Sudhakaran is backed by Ramesh Chennithala and Shashi Tharoor too in the battle of power.
Perhaps the most surreal moment came when Sudhakaran described his recent meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. The discussion, according to him, focused on booth committees, ward-level structures, protest histories—essentially everything except the elephant in the room: his leadership. It was the political equivalent of rearranging furniture while the house burns.
While the Congress High Command continues to tiptoe around Kerala’s leadership minefield, Sudhakaran remains firmly seated—unshaken, and at least in his own mind, undefeated. The KPCC saga marches on, somewhere between a Shakespearean tragedy and a political reality show no one asked for.