Recently, yet again, all eyes turned to the Kerala Congress. The state was in the throes of suspense for days together over the question - Will KC (M) cross over from the Left Democratic Front (LDF), where it had been for one year before the 2021 assembly elections and return to the United Democratic Front (UDF) with barely three months to the next polls? Rumour mills worked overtime, with the media crying hoarse about the growing divide within KC over the issue. According to media reports, Chairman Jose K Mani sought to return to the UDF, while Roshy Augustine, the state Irrigation Minister and the party’s second-in-command, insisted on staying with the LDF. For seasoned observers, it was deja vu. The script looked the same; only the cast was different.

However, a few days later, Mani Junior dismissed the speculations as baseless and declared that his party would remain firmly with the LDF. “That book is closed forever”, he said. Yet, such denials, too, have been part of the KC folklore, which would vanish into thin air when the “rumours” turn out to be true. Therefore, with three more months still to go before the next assembly elections, nothing can be ruled out, as there is enough time for stunning developments to unfold. Three months is a long time in the political calendar. And for the KC, it is an eternity.

No other party in Kerala’s political history has switched sides with the fluidity of a gymnast. It's tough to keep track of the countless splits in the KC and the political somersaults it made over the six decades of its history since its birth in 1964, when it broke away from the Indian National Congress. At certain points, as many as five KC splinters coexisted, aligned variously with the UDF, the LDF or even the BJP. Each faction was identified by the first letter of its leader’s name in brackets: KC(M), KC(J), KC(B), KC(S) and more. Problems arose when rival leaders shared the same initial letter of their names, such as Joseph and Jacob. A running joke was that the English alphabet might prove inadequate to keep pace with the splintering.

Yet, the somersaults have outnumbered the schisms. Political Ideology or personal loyalty has never stood in the way of switching sides, even quicker than one could say 'Mani'. Power has been the motive; back-stabbing, betrayal, subterfuge, and skullduggery, the method.........

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