2019 elections will be Congress’ Waterloo if it doesn’t stand with Sabarimala devotees, says party leader K Sudhakaran

Sudhakaran's statement comes in direct conflict with the view expressed by the party's national president Rahul Gandhi who spoke for entry of all people regardless of gender at the Sabarimala temple

K Sudhakaran, Congress working president in Kerala and the party’s tallest leader in Malabar region, asked leaders and workers to make sure to align the party more closely with the cause of the devotees in the raging row over the entry of women of all ages in the Sabarimala temple. Or else, he warned, the party’s roots will be ripped apart in the state.

“We should not create opportunities for the BJP (to exploit the situation)…if we end up doing that, the next election will be a Waterloo for the Congress party. There is no question about it,” Sudhakaran said at a party programme in Kasaragod district.

Sudhakaran recently appointed the party’s working president alongside Mullappally Ramachandran who was named the Kerala Congress chief, has been the most vocal critic of the Supreme Court ruling that opened doors for women of all ages at the temple. Since 1991, women of menstruating age were barred from entering the temple. Sudhakaran, a former MP from the CPM pocket borough of Kannur, has stuck to the stand that temple traditions must be upheld and devotee sentiments protected.

“If the Congress party cannot get believers and devotees to stand alongside it, the party’s roots will get ripped apart. Kerala and its people will abandon us,” he added at the meeting.

Sudhakaran’s statement comes in direct conflict with the view expressed by the party’s national president Rahul Gandhi who spoke for entry of all people regardless of gender at the Sabarimala temple. At the same time, Gandhi admitted that the party’s Kerala unit has had to take a different stand since it was an emotional issue.

Ramesh Chennithala, former home minister and the current leader of opposition in the Kerala Assembly, told reporters that Gandhi was large-hearted and has allowed the state unit to take its own decision on the Sabarimala issue.

“We stick to the same position that we took in 2016 when the government headed by Oommen Chandy submitted the affidavit first in High Court and then in the Supreme Court. It was a position we took after careful examination. We have spoken about this to Congress national president Rahul Gandhi. He allowed us (the state unit) to respect the sentiments of the devotees and stand closely with them. There is no difference of opinion at all. It points to his (Rahul) large-heartedness that he gave the state unit the freedom to take its own stand,” Chennithala said.

Among the rank and file of the Congress party, there’s believed to be considerable heartburn regarding the stand it took on the issue. While the liberal section of the party contends that Congress must not abandon basic principles of gender equality, the conservative sections comprising leaders like Sudhakaran are apprehensive of the backlash from Hindu voters in 2019 elections if the party does not protest against the SC verdict. Even as the ruling CPM has been determined to follow the SC ruling, the BJP has taken a highly aggressive approach, launching agitations and protests on the streets. In such a scenario, the Congress leadership is keen not to be left behind.