Thiruvananthapuram erupted in political drama on February 16 as senior Congress stalwart Mani Shankar Aiyar launched a scathing attack on the party’s leadership. His sharp jabs at K.C. Venugopal and Pawan Khera via social media have sparked a new wave of infighting, threatening to undermine Congress’s cohesion in Kerala.
In a post that’s gone viral, Aiyar mocked the decision to position Venugopal as Rahul Gandhi’s equivalent of Sardar Patel and the choice of Khera as spokesperson. These comments, laden with sarcasm, signal growing frustration among old guards with the current hierarchy.
During a media interaction, Aiyar shifted focus to praise Kerala’s LDF government, calling it the true heir to Rajiv Gandhi’s decentralization dream. He pointed out that only four states—Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana—have meaningfully adopted this approach, dominating governance metrics.
With local leaders like Minister M.B. Rajesh and Thomas Isaac by his side, Aiyar voiced conflicted hopes: rooting for UDF’s comeback as a party loyalist, yet foreseeing Vijayan’s re-election as a Gandhian admirer. He commended Vijayan’s smarts and international diplomacy efforts.
Reaffirming his Congress roots with the witty remark about his dhoti’s Congress flag, Aiyar turned his guns on Shashi Tharoor, labeling him a careerist for cozying up to Modi despite his ministerial past. Rejecting party-switching speculation, he declared himself too much of a maverick for any outfit and ready to speak out independently if sidelined.
Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan countered sharply, urging Aiyar to remember Congress’s generosity. This episode lays bare the simmering tensions within Congress, from leadership picks to ideological drifts, as the party eyes future battles.