Roji M John’s rise and the Congress reset in Kerala
The defeat of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front and the ushering in of the V D Satheesan-led United Democratic Front government in Kerala in the 2026 Assembly election have brightened the future prospects of the Congress. If the first month’s track record of the Satheesan government is any indication, the possibility of the UDF staying in power for a decade or more cannot be ruled out.
What stands out in the victory of the UDF in the 2026 election is that a headache troubling the Congress for the last 15 years has been resolved once and for all. The Congress has been the stronghold of the Christian community in the state since Kerala was formed in 1956, and the Church did not disappoint the high command of the grand old party even once till 2011. A K Antony, Oommen Chandy, C M Stephen, A J John, and P T Chacko were moulded by the Church, with the first two becoming chief ministers. Antony is almost 87, while Chandy left to meet Rajiv Gandhi in 2024. Since then, a leadership crisis has haunted the community in Kerala.
The Church, irrespective of its factions, has played a major role in shaping the cultural, political, and business spheres of the state. The Catholic Church wielded enormous influence in areas like business, trade, commerce, education, and healthcare. It could be said that it is the writ of the Church that runs in these sectors. The number of super-speciality hospitals, ordinary hospitals, schools, and colleges are proof of the political power of the community. The cardinals and bishops in the state know when and where to strike. The ban on the manufacture and sale of arrack (country liquor) is a standing monument to the Church’s power to bend the rules.
Arrack brewing and sale were a monopoly business of the Eezhava community, a powerful political section. The business of brewing and sale was an exclusive domain of the Eezhava community in the state. Neighbouring Tamil Nadu and the western state of Gujarat were the only exceptions to the arrack business, as both had banned the sale of arrack as a matter of policy. What upset the calculations of the Church was the Eezhava community’s monopoly over the arrack business. Almost 80 percent of the brewing and sale of arrack was owned by the Eezhavas, who constitute 20 to 25 percent of the Hindu population in the state. This had created a financial gap between the Church and the Eezhavas, as the former feared that its command over the business and trade sectors was facing a serious threat from the latter. A majority of the retail outlets of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and five-star hotels were owned by Christians. Hence, the Church exerted pressure on the government led by A K Antony, who was incapable of saying no to the demands made by the cardinals and archbishops. The ban on arrack was declared by the Antony-led government in 1996, during his second tenure.
The ban on arrack led to hundreds of employees in the brewing and sale business committing suicide. Though the reason given for the ban was the deterioration of the health of tipplers, the real reason was the Church’s ire towards the burgeoning economic superiority of the Eezhava community. The Eezhava community had an indisputable command over the business of toddy and arrack. The outlets stood out for the curries served along with the spirits. Daily wage earners toiling from morning till evening found some relief in a couple of arrack shots, and there were no reported casualties. But things took a turn for the worse with the banning of arrack, and hundreds were killed in hooch tragedies across the state. The arrack ban did not reduce the deaths of tipplers due to liver cirrhosis. Rishiraj Singh, former Excise Commissioner of Kerala, who authored the book Before It Is Too Late, has mentioned that the ban on arrack has led the state to become a hub of narcotics and that even school students have become drug addicts.
Leaders of the Church are laughing all the way to the bank because of the flourishing trade in IMFL and the bar business. The owners of bars give a major cut to the representatives of Jesus Christ. It was at this juncture that the 2026 election was held, and the UDF was elevated to the corridors of power by Christians and Muslims. Though there were no Christian leaders in the Congress who could stake a claim to the chief minister’s chair, the UDF government got a major breakthrough with the appointment of Roji M John (44), a three-time Congress MLA, as Minister for Higher Education. What came in John’s way was the chief minister appointing him to intervene in a five-decade-long land dispute between an owner and 20 tenants. John sorted out the issue, something that could not be solved by Pinarayi Vijayan or his team of ministers during their decade-long tenure.
John, who hails from the CPI(M) stronghold of Thaliparamba in Kannur, is a refreshing change from the Congress politicians whom we meet in daily life. A postgraduate with an MPhil degree, John comes from a family of poor farmers who migrated to Malabar from Central Travancore in search of greener pastures, and he rose in life the hard way. His intelligence and expertise in grasping problems led the Congress high command to appoint him as an AICC secretary. His performance in the Assembly elections itself speaks volumes about his potential. When he fought the election for the first time in 2016, John polled 49 percent of the votes, while his rival from the Janata Dal (S) bagged 42.22 percent. In 2021, John retained the seat by polling 51.86 percent, defeating the seasoned JD(S) candidate Jose Thettayil, who could poll only 40.33 percent. This time, Jose shied away from the battlefront, and John boarded the train to the capital city by polling 59.86 percent — a rare feat in Kerala politics.
As Minister for Higher Education, he has Dr Achyuth Shankar S Nair as the Vice-Chairman of the State Council of Higher Education. The duo has a big responsibility — to restore the quality of universities in the state, which were demolished by CPI(M) leader R Bindu, spouse of the party’s politburo member Vijayaraghavan. The last ten years of LDF rule have destroyed the reputation of universities in Kerala. “We can meet many PhD holders who cannot explain the kind of research they have done for their doctoral thesis,” said R Sasikumar, chairman of the Save University Campaign and a reputed academician.
Since the other Christian leaders of the Congress are past their prime and have failed to deliver results, except for making a furor over non-issues in the Legislative Assembly, John’s route to Cliff House (the official residence of the Chief Minister) appears clear. Being a Catholic, John enjoys the confidence of the First Family of the Congress. With K C Venugopal, AICC organisational secretary, sulking over his failure to become chief minister, and Ramesh Chennithala, who still believes that there is no one more qualified than him to occupy the gaddi, life has become tough for Satheesan. If the grapevine is to be believed, trouble has already started for the incumbent chief minister from within his own party and leadership. Well, it is just one month since he moved to Cliff House. Tamasha is unfolding in the Secretariat as well as at the KPCC headquarters.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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