The Congress party in Kerala is facing an existential battle in the ongoing assembly election, with the party's leadership seeking to survive a double-barreled attack from the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan has been an aggressive campaigner, promising the 'five Indira Guarantees' to voters, including free travel in public state transport buses and higher welfare pension.
However, the Congress's relationship with senior leader Shashi Tharoor has been a subject of interest, with many state leaders initially making snide remarks about his politics, but now seeking his expertise.
The party's performance in state polls has been declining since 2001, and the UDF is now a relatively weaker alliance, with the Muslim League providing ballast in the Malabar region.
The real test for the Congress would be in managing the different social constituencies that it once patronised, and the party's ability to offer itself as a party of governance in Kerala.
A visible change in the UDF campaign is its crop of powerful campaigners, including Satheesan, Tharoor, and Lok Sabha MP Shafi Parambil, who has the image of a rockstar in northern Kerala.
