Ramesh Chennithala,V. M. Sudheeran and Oommen ChandyThe United Democratic Front (UDF) is not a grouping known for its incisive acumen.
After a battering in the assembly polls, it is struggling to get its act right, as is evident from the way it conducts itself in the state legislature.
The haste in which it sought to go all out in the fight against the ruling coalition in the assembly smacks of sheer frustration rather than any moral outrage against the government's policies, vis-a-vis the row over the fee issue in self-financing medical and engineering colleges.
What else would justify the decision by the UDF leadership to pitch-fork some of its legislators for a fast until death to protest against the LDF government, which is barely four month's old.
The haste with which it had to withdraw from such a protest in the assembly precincts exposed its lack of understanding of issues and the way it should function as a responsible opposition.
The nepotism row also saw the opposition jumping into a sort of unwarranted ecstasy.
The UDF should have reminded itself that its government was voted out of power for similar reasons and that none of its eight ministers, who faced corruption charges, had quit immediately after charges were leveled against them.
The UDF should have clearly analyzed the writing on the wall after its rout in the assembly polls.
Instead, it behaved as a motley, fractious grouping hell bent on destroying the responsibility of a constructive opposition bestowed on it by the voters.
The UDF should have ideally done some soul searching post election results.
Instead, the same factional feuds which triggered its poll debacle erupted again within its leading constituent, the Congress.
The tug of war within the state unit of the Congress between the trio that is tearing apart the main opposition party has resulted in a situation in which the opposition is able to hardly focus on the government's follies.
Its warring leaders are more preoccupied with asserting the dominance of the factions they represent rather than focusing on functioning as a credible opposition, thereby creating a vacuum at the political center stage.
This is akin to playing to the tune of the BJP-led NDA, which is moving heaven and earth to emerge as a key player in the state's political horizon.
The Congress and the UDF can only further accentuate its demise with such wanton acts of political irresponsibility.
The second largest political formation in the state needs some out-of-the-box thinking to revive its waning political fortunes.
To put it in other words, it needs an enlightened leadership.
The trio that leads the Congress in the state has lost the moral authority to lead an opposition coalition against a CPM-led LDF government.
This calls for some disruptive action from within, which can only happen by dismantling the infrastructure of factionalism that is rampant in the Congress.
The Congress is facing its biggest crisis in the state as well as nationally.
Unless the grand old party identifies the root cause of its poll drubbing and takes stern steps to regain its connect with the masses, it is bound to slip into the ninth circle of hell.
The only way to avert such a battering is to go for a complete revamp of the organization. There is hardly any space for a debate on that.
