A hot-mic moment caught two top Congress leaders unaware and awarded ammunition to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to portray the Opposition party as riven with one-upmanship and jealousy at the helm.
The incident that has now permeated the State’s political debate occurred on September 8 in Kottayam. However, it figured in the mainstream media prominently only on September 20.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan had called a press conference to toast Chandy Oommen’s emphatic victory in the Puthuppally byelection.
As they settled for the press conference, they did not realise that the microphones in front of them were live.
The cluster of mikes broadcast a spiky exchange by the leaders across television channels and social media platforms.
They argued over who would begin the press conference. Mr. Sudhakaran challenged Mr. Satheesan’s pronouncement that he would start the press conference. “I am the KPCC president. I will commence the press conference. You can speak later,” he said.
Mr. Satheesan appeared petulant and moved the cluster of mikes towards Mr. Sudhakaran. He also refused a shawl offered by a party worker and referred questions from journalists to Mr. Sudhakaran. “The president has said everything,” he said.
The unflattering episode played out powerfully on social media and was amplified by television channels. Mr. Satheesan sought to play down the episode. He said Mr. Sudhakaran wanted to give him full credit for the byelection win.
However, he did not want to monopolise the credit for the victory. Mr. Satheesan said he had tried to dissuade Mr. Sudhakaran from publicly attributing the success to the Opposition leader.
“I tried to stop him by attempting to speak first. I also had a throat affliction,” he added.
Mr. Sudhakaran has yet to comment on the incident. Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener E.P. Jayarajan leaned on the incident to mock the Congress’s alleged culture of putting personal ambition above the party and placing personality cults over policy.
“It’s fortunate that they did not slug it out. Perhaps hiring police to keep the peace at such meetings might help,” Mr. Jayarajan quipped. The viral clipping spawned memes and trolls mocking the two Congress leaders.
