The Congress party’s unusually long delay in naming its new chief minister for Kerala was simply baffling. The speed the Congress leadership showed in dumping their long-time ally DMK and siding with the TVK in Tamil Nadu was nowhere visible in the case of Kerala.

Notwithstanding who is ultimately sworn in as the new Kerala chief minister, questions are bound to be asked about what led to this strange delay. This happened even when all newly elected party lawmakers had authorised the party high command to name their legislative party leader. This episode bore the signature brand of Rahul Gandhi’s style of politics.

Congress delays have hurt party in the past

Cut back to the year 2017. The Congress party had emerged as the single largest party in the hung assemblies elected in Goa and Manipur. In Goa, it won 17 of the 40 seats and was short of the majority by four seats. In Manipur, it emerged victorious on 28 of the 60 seats and was short of the majority by three seats. The BJP had won 13 seats in Goa and 21 seats in Manipur. Yet, it was the BJP that formed the governments in these two states.

The regional parties in both Goa and Manipur were ready to hand over their letters of support to the Congress. However, the party leadership took its own time in deciding who should be its new chief........

© Free Press Journal