In a direct echo of the period five years ago on the eve of the previous Assembly elections, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) is once again entangled in a logistical knot over fielding its sitting MPs for the upcoming Assembly polls.
With at least half a dozen MPs yearning to contest the polls, the Congress central leadership is weighing political risks and organisational priorities, choosing between maintaining its strength in the Lok Sabha and reclaiming power in the State.
During the 2021 polls, the AICC strictly refused to yield to the aspirations of MPs, fearing that a wave of byelections would deplete their numbers in the Lok Sabha. This rigid stance was later criticised as a tactical blunder.
Despite a landslide victory in 19 out of 20 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) was unable to convert that momentum into State-level success. The lone exception at the time was made for K. Muraleedharan, then representing the Vadakara Lok Sabha seat, to contest in the Nemom Assembly segment to checkmate the BJP, which ended in a disappointing failure.
The issue has resurfaced now with former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran openly expressing his desire to return to State politics. “I will contest if the party asks me to, and I hope the party will ask me to contest,” he said.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph confirmed that some MPs had conveyed their willingness to enter the fray. “No decision has been taken yet. It is entirely for the party high command to decide,” Mr. Joseph told The Hindu.
Apart from Mr. Sudhakaran, United Democratic Front convener and Attingal MP Adoor Prakash, Kozhikode MP M.K. Raghavan, and Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil are among those keen on securing Assembly tickets.
Many senior leaders feel their influence is being diminished within a highly centralised national political stage. They argue that the only way to recapture traditional bastions lost to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) is to field senior heavyweights with proven local clout.
While echoing this view, senior Congress leader and eight-time MP Kodikunnil Suresh said that deploying experienced parliamentarians might be justified if it helped wrest some seats from the LDF and improve the UDF’s performance.
“I have no compulsion to contest, but I will do so if the party asks me to. So far, no such instruction has been given. The most important thing is the UDF’s victory,” Mr. Suresh told The Hindu.
However, conceding to these demands would also create an influx of high-profile leaders in a crowded field of Chief Ministerial aspirants. The AICC is well aware that such a move could spark a debilitating leadership struggle between returning veterans and established State leaders such as V.D. Satheesan and Ramesh Chennithala, sources said.
Published – February 06, 2026 08:08 pm IST
