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Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony’s son, Anil Antony. speaks to the media after quitting the Congress a day after criticising the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: ANI
When the controversy over the BBC’s documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke out, Anil K. Antony, son of former Defence Minister and Congress Working Committee member A.K. Antony, caused an uproar in the party circles by criticising the British national broadcaster for undermining India’s sovereignty.
Mr. Anil Antony, who faced online abuse and calls for retracting his tweet, subsequently stepped down as the digital media convener of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and national coordinator of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Social Media and Digital Communications Cell.
Incidentally, Mr. Anil Antony made these remarks on the same day that AICC leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the ban on the documentary, which claims to have investigated some aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Mr. Modi was Gujarat Chief Minister.
Even after his resignation from these posts, Mr. Anil Antony continued his broadside against the BBC on social media. He said the BBC is known to repeatedly use truncated maps of India without Kashmir, and termed it as a perfect ally for the current Congress leadership. He also targeted AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh and spokesperson Surpiya Shrinate.
These developments may have caused some satisfaction in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level given that Mr. Anil Antony is the son of a veteran Congress leader, who is a steadfast loyalist of the Gandhi family. Whether his views, aired in public, will win some brownie points with the BJP is yet to be seen.
The episode suddenly propelled Mr. Anil Antony into the national limelight even as the Congress in Kerala is struggling to deal with the rising profile of its Thiruvananthapuram MP, Shashi Tharoor, in State politics. Mr. Tharoor’s recent activities and views suggest that he is aspiring to be a contender for the post of Chief Minister in the next Assembly polls, which has caused some dissatisfaction among senior State Congress leaders. By all accounts, Mr. Anil Antony is Mr. Tharoor’s admirer. But while Mr. Tharoor’s acceptance among Kerala’s middle class is high, Mr. Anil Antony is yet to experience the rough and tumble of electoral politics and does not enjoy the same appeal.
The young Antony’s resignation letter has also sent out the message that the Kerala Congress leadership is uncertain about its political position after the United Democratic Front, which it led, failed to return to power in the 2021 Assembly polls. Not only has the Congress failed to impress the public with its stringent anti-Modi posture, but has also been unable to effectively deploy its machinery to muster enough support to take on the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala.
Many thought that a change of guard at the helm of the KPCC and the Legislative Party after the 2021 Assembly polls would result in some good for the party. The new leadership did have bold solutions. It sought to remodel the party as a semi-cadre apparatus and chalked out plans to expand the coalition. But soon the leaders went back to their old ways, leaving the party riven by internal conflicts. While the various factions of the Congress were united during the Kerala leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, this oneness was overshadowed by the din of leaders airing public comments on different political issues. Leaders have also been openly debating chief ministership after the 2026 polls.
The Congress was once controlled by two powerful groups, led by former Chief Ministers A.K. Antony and K. Karunakaran; it is now divided into multiple factions. Its political troubles appear deep-rooted: leaders seem insecure and apprehensive, and the organisational set-up in the lower rungs is almost defunct. Several MPs are wary about their future and are waiting in the wings to shift to State politics. Simultaneously, the CPI(M) is making overtures to its rival coalition partner, the Indian Union Muslim League, after establishing a direct line with the Samastha Kerala Jemiyyathul Ulema leaders.
Political observers feel that there is a crab mentality in the Congress leadership. The process of organisational polls is stuck, as leaders have little clue as to how to go about it. Many local-level leaders have started to walk out before being elbowed out. Unless the leadership collectively and consciously decides to get its house in order, the party risks being routed in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
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