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For the first time in a long time, Congress seems to be acting proactively rather than reacting
(From left) Vijay, Rahul Gandhi and VD Satheesan. (PTI/X)
Congress took two dramatic decisions this month, and together, they could define the future of opposition politics in the South for the next five years.
First, the party walked out of its long-standing alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu and formally joined hands with Vijay and his Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) government. Then another big call came. After 11 days of intense deliberations, lobbying and backroom talks in Kerala, the Congress leadership chose VD Satheesan as the Chief Minister, despite a significant section of MLAs supporting KC Venugopal.
These are not separate decisions. Together, they point to something bigger. He suggests that Rahul Gandhi is trying to fundamentally reshape the power structure of the Congress Party in South India. And for the first time in years, Congress seems willing to prioritize political stability over internal balancing acts.
Was this finally a politically mature and pragmatic Rahul Gandhi? Or is Congress merely postponing deeper crises that may emerge later?
Tamil Nadu and Kerala
The optics themselves are extraordinary. Pictures from Chennai were visible on television screens throughout the week. Gandhi sat next to Vijay on the stage, CongressFlags fluttering with TVK colours, senior Congress leaders clapping as Vijay announced a “new era of secular regional cooperation” – these were scenes no one could have imagined a year ago.
What made the moment more impactful was the reaction from the DMK camp. The bitterness of the breakup was clearly visible. DMK insiders accused the Congress of betrayal, while Congress leaders argued that the alliance had become politically suffocated. Before the elections, there was a desire of young leaders in Congress to form an alliance with Vijay. Then the old leaders won and Congress remained with DMK, but now Rahul Gandhi has changed his mind.
And then came Kerala.
The Congress high command delayed the announcement of the Chief Minister for eleven days after the election results. That delay only revealed how high the stakes were. One camp insisted that KC Venugopal’s organizational acumen and closeness to the Gandhi family made him a natural choice. Another argued that Kerala could not afford a Karnataka-style dual power centre. Ultimately, Rahul Gandhi favored pragmatism rather than proximity. And this was VD Satheesan.
lessons from the past
Congress The states where it is in power have a long and painful history of self-inflicted wounds. Time and again, electoral victories have been eclipsed by factional wars. The fight between Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu in Punjab became so poisonous that the government became weak from within and the party lost power.
In Rajasthan, the cold war between CM Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot has shaken the entire tenure of the Congress government till 2023. In Chhattisgarh, power-sharing tensions between Bhupesh Baghel and TS Singh Deo continued to destabilize the administration. There is repeated internal turmoil in Himachal Pradesh due to the uneasy relationship between Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and Pratibha Singh.
And the most visible example of this today is Karnataka.
Despite still being in the government, Congress is struggling with the unresolved question of succession in Karnataka. The uneasy co-existence between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has become a source of constant speculation. Every cabinet expansion becomes a test of loyalty. Every political appointment becomes a factional negotiation. Every public appearance is analyzed for signs of stress.
Rahul Gandhi clearly did not want Kerala to become another Karnataka.
This explains why the Final Judgment was so important.
Satheesan as Chief Minister: What does this mean for Congress?
Unlike the example when the Congress high command always cited the support of MLAs to hand over the CM’s chair to a contender, this time the opposite happened. Despite the support of more MLAs, KC Venugopal could not become CM.
By selecting VD Satheesan, the Congress leadership appears to have opted for a single-command structure rather than a compromise formula. Satheesan is seen as aggressive, having fought the Left on the ground for a decade, organizationally assertive and politically combative – qualities the Congress believes are necessary to counter the deeply entrenched Left machinery in Kerala.
Party insiders say Rahul Gandhi He was particularly convinced by the argument that Kerala needed a Chief Minister with independent authority, not someone who was perceived to be working under the umbrella of Delhi. More importantly, the party no longer wanted to take the risk of by-elections and hence it gambled on an MLA instead of an MP.
But there is another layer to it.
southern belt matters
Congress Today knows that South India is no longer just a comfort zone for the party. This is becoming the backbone of Congress’s survival strategy at the national level. Think carefully about it.
The Congress is now in power in Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala, and is part of the ruling coalition in Tamil Nadu through the TVK arrangement, leaving four of the five southern states effectively under Congress influence. This gives the party administrative visibility, media relevance, financial resources and parliamentary leverage.
In many ways, the South is becoming for the Congress what the Hindi heartland was decades ago.
Therefore Tamil Nadu shift is equally important.
Congress leaders privately acknowledge that there were long-term risks in being permanently tied to the DMK. The DMK dominated the alliance, controlled the narrative and limited the growth of the Congress. The emergence of Vijay suddenly changed the equation.
Unlike DMK, TVK needed Congress For national legitimacy, parliamentary coordination and governance experience. Meanwhile, the Congress saw an opportunity to re-establish itself as a new regional power rather than always remaining a junior ally.
The latest developments show that the partnership is already deepening rapidly. Sources indicate that Congress may get key portfolios related to education, social justice and urban development in Tamil Nadu. There is also speculation that joint coordination committees are being set up between the TVK and the Congress to avoid friction in governance. This is important because coalition instability has historically harmed opposition coalitions.
Meanwhile, Vijay’s own political rise has added enormous public energy to the arrangement. His speeches continue to draw huge crowds, especially among young urban voters. Political observers say the Congress believes an early engagement with Vijay could help it reconnect with the youth demographic it had alienated in the last decade.
But this strategy also has risks.
Sample
By abandoning the DMK alliance, Congress An old bridge has been burnt. If the TVK experiment struggles administratively or politically, the Congress may find itself isolated in Tamil Nadu. There is also uneasiness within a section of the Congress in Kerala and Karnataka that Rahul Gandhi has become overly dependent on charismatic regional faces rather than rebuilding the party organization independently.
And then there is the big ideological question.
Is Congress gradually becoming a federation of regional power systems instead of a centrally run national party?
Look carefully at the pattern. In Karnataka, the party is largely dependent on Siddaramaiah’s social alliance. Regional leadership remains dominant in Telangana. Now in Tamil Nadu, Vijay is clearly the bigger public face. In Kerala too, Satheesan’s decision reflects the growing importance of strong state-level personalities.
This is a very different Congress from the command-and-control model of the past.
Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi’s supporters argue that Congress needs this reform. He says the party suffered losses for years because Delhi leaders imposed artificial balancing formulas that weakened the chief minister.
According to him, strong regional leadership is no longer a threat to the Congress – it is the only path to revival.
However, critics are skeptical.
They point out that Congress has repeatedly celebrated temporary unity before plunging into fresh factionalism. He argues that the real test will not be during the victory celebrations but during ticket distribution, cabinet formation and crisis management.
And that test may come sooner than expected.
Already, reports from Kerala suggest that some Venugopal supporters are unhappy with the final result. Even in Tamil Nadu, a section of old Congress leaders are worried that the party may be overshadowed by Vijay’s larger-than-life personality. Within the DMK, there is anger over what leaders call “political opportunism” and there are indications that the party may aggressively target the Congress in the coming months to reclaim the opposition space.
so until Rahul Gandhi’s While decisions may seem decisive today, these choices will require sustained management to make them politically sustainable.
But one thing is undeniable.
For the first time in a long time, Congress seems to be acting proactively rather than reactively. Rather than simply responding to crises, the party is attempting structural political redesign. Whether that new design succeeds or collapses due to internal contradictions is a different question altogether.
Yet politically, these two decisions – forging an alliance with Vijay in Tamil Nadu and choosing VD Satheesan in Kerala – could become turning points.
because they reveal a Congress A leadership that has finally understood the cruel truth of Indian politics.
Power does not go only in elections.
Sometimes power ends within the party itself. Rahul Gandhi, who has been out of power in Delhi for 12 years, has realized that power is most important. These could be signs of a more mature, practical Rahul Gandhi!
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