In a bizarre political paradox, the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala has landed itself in deep political turbulence after passing a legislative resolution in the state assembly demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. While the move aligns with the opposition’s aggressive national narrative against the Election Commission, it has inadvertently handed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a potent weapon to question the very legitimacy and electoral mandate that brought the Congress to power in the state just five months ago.

The resolution, passed on Monday with an overwhelming 137-3 majority in the 140-member Kerala Assembly, is the first of its kind in the country. Spearheaded by the leadership, the motion calls for the removal of the CEC, the reinstatement of voters allegedly purged during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, and a sweeping overhaul of the election commissioner selection process. However, the optics of passing such a resolution have proved disastrous for the ruling party. Having swept to power in May by defeating the CPI(M)-led LDF through the very same electoral framework and revised voter rolls, the Congress now finds itself battling severe accusations of political opportunism and double standards.

Sensing a major opening, the BJP launched a scathing counter-offensive. Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar accused the Congress of practicing “fraudulent politics,” pointing out the glaring hypocrisy of questioning a system that handed them a state-level victory. Chandrasekhar highlighted that senior Congress leader Shashi थरूर had earlier openly conceded at a public platform that the SIR process likely aided the Congress in Kerala by eliminating duplicate and proxy votes allegedly engineered by the rival Left parties. Echoing similar skepticism, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma remarked on social media that for the Congress, democracy is only valid when it secures them a victory. BJP leaders have relentlessly questioned whether the Congress intends to invalidate the current assembly mandate itself, turning a national posturing exercise into a major domestic embarrassment for the party in Thiruvananthapuram.