Thiruvananthapuram: It was at a public rally in March 1995 in Thiruvananthapuram that K. Karunakaran made the famous one-liner that described the murky world of politics. "I was stabbed from the front and from behind."
With the soreness of being forced out of his cherished chief minister's chair as a fallout of the ‘ISRO spy case' that had allegedly compromised the national space research organisation, Karunakaran's ire was directed at an unusual consolidation of many of his Congress party colleagues and constituents of the United Democratic Front (UDF) even as he obstinately defended inspector general of police, Ramon Srivastava, who was alleged to have had a role in the spy case. Federal investigators later rejected charges against Srivastava.
Karunakaran never regained his chair but the episode highlighted how he would never give up on his loyalists.
Party infighting
For a leader who salvaged the desolate Congress party from wilderness during the political volatility of 1960s and installed it in power in a largely ‘Communist' state, perhaps the greatest challenge he could have ever faced was when he was forced to leave the Congress and form his own party in 2005.
The spy case and dethronement were just a momentary phase in his political slide, the origins of which could be traced to the early 1990s when groups in Kerala's Congress unit went at each other with unprecedented belligerence.
As his rival group led by A.K. Antony and Oommen Chandy struggled to resist the dominant leader's autocratic sway over the party, the vast majority of the partymen and leaders heavily consolidated in favour of Karunakaran.
The twist in the tale started with a serious road accident near the state capital in 1993 which left Karunakaran struggling with ill health for a long time. While the leader recuperated, a realignment of forces happened as a section of his loyalists resisted efforts by a clique to promote his son, K. Muraleedharan, as the leader of the main group in the Congress party, the Congress I.
The exodus of core loyalists was rapid from then on, which intensified after he was brought down from power. However, even when he was losing core supporters among the leadership rung, a dedicated cadre continued to affirm allegiance to him, and partly to his son, a bond he sustained till his last days.
A key trait of Karunakaran during times of political turbulence was his ability to cultivate a new generation of leaders even when his trusted lieutenants ditched him.
Mentor to many
This was best demonstrated at the launch of his new party, which had a frontline leadership of third- and fourth-rung Youth Congress leaders who could barely aspire to rise in the faction-ridden Congress party, where top leaders never retired from positions of power.
At least three generations of Kerala's Congress leaders owed their mentoring to Karunakaran; many of them ditched him at some point or other.
There are very few Indian politicians whose influence spread across caste, religion and ideology. Unlike many national leaders, Karunakaran had no specific caste or religious leanings. Yet, he managed the best of communal balancing acts between various religious and casteist interests.
Even at a time when the national leadership desisted the company of parties with communal links, Karunakaran stitched together the United Democratic Front with a perfect integration of the Muslim League and the pro-Christian Kerala Congress.
A perennial and indomitable nightmare for the Communists, Karunakaran was the roadblock which impeded Kerala from becoming a Leftist bastion like West Bengal. He was revered and dreaded at the same time by the Leftists.
Interestingly, the first coalition that he created had the Communist Party of India (CPI) as a lead partner. Years later, Karunakaran again aligned with the communists in 2005-06 and facilitated many a major Left victory, though the Left Front refused to acknowledge him as an ally, thus forcing his return to the Congress.
For a leader who had a great talent for political manoeuvring, the last years were of political blunders and miscalculations.
Once out of power, he never regained full control. Though he managed to elevate his son to the state Congress unit's presidency, exemplary subversion by his rivals and his own impulsive decisions led to disasters for K. Muraleedharan, who, however, managed to inherit his father's legacy and a chunk of the support base.
Karunakaran leaves behind not just a sterling political legacy, but also an unmatched era of inimitable and determined governance. No Kerala chief minister brought development and prosperity to the state as he could. Many development landmarks of the state today, including the Nedumbassery airport, Technopark and the Kaloor international stadium, owe it to the ‘Leader', whose panache for instant decisions, without fear of consequences, made him one of the state's best administrators.
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