Arif Mohd Khan in one corner, Shashi Tharoor in the other could remain Kerala’s 2023 newsmakers

For the Congress, the biggest question will be the next move of party MP Shashi Tharoor who, after defiantly staying in the race for party national president, has now made clear his intention to become more active in state politics.

Amidst his growing profile and rising popularity, Tharoor will hit the new year running, having been invited as chief guest to a January 2 event of the upper-caste Nair Service Society. Given the entrenched party state leadership’s uneasiness regarding Tharoor, it would be interesting to watch how the Congress contains the erudite leader.

The Congress also has another unrest brewing, in the form of long-standing ally Indian Union Muslim League. The CPI(M) has been aggressively wooing the IUML which, wary of the BJP’s rise, seems to be considering the Left as a more viable option to contain it.

The Pinarayi Vijayan government has met several demands of the Muslim community, regarding recruitment in the Wakf Board to ditching a gender neutral uniform idea for schools.

Securing the IUML’s support would help the CPI(M) make up somewhat for its eroding base among the Christians. The BJP, in turn, has been wooing the Christians, playing on their fears over “growing Islamic fundamentalism” in the state.