K Sudhakaran's rebellion seems to have been short-lived. Contradicting Sudhakaran's claim that the Congress 'high command' had not broached leadership change with him during discussions in New Delhi last week, the AICC on Thursday anointed Congress's Peravoor MLA Sunny Joseph as the new Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president. 

In an obvious move to placate him, Sudhakaran has been made a permanent invitee of the Congress Working Committee; Ramesh Chennithala is the only other permanent invitee from Kerala in the CWC, and A K Antony, K C Venugopal and Shashi Tharoor are CWC members. 

Along with the president, there has been a thorough overhaul at the top of the state unit of the Congress. Adoor Prakash will be the UDF convener in place of M M Hassan. P C Vishnunath MLA, A P Anil Kumar MLA and Shafi Parambil MP have been made working presidents. 

These three relatively young leaders, considered "high-value performers", will replace Kodikkunnil Suresh, T N Prathapan and T Siddique. 

This marks a generational shift in the leadership of the party. Caste and communal balance were also sought to be achieved. The perennial grouse of the SNDP that Congress had always ignored Ezhava leaders was sought to be addressed with the appointment of Adoor Prakash in the influential post of the UDF convener. Kodikkunnil has been replaced by perhaps the party's most popular SC face, Anil Kumar. Though he detests a non-secular label, Shafi's presence at the top, Congress strategists reason, could mollify the communally-minded. 

Sunny, along with Pathanamthitta's long-serving MP Anto Antony, were the frontrunners for the post of the KPCC president. After Oommen Chandy, the party has been increasingly feeling the need for a leader from the Christian community to lead it, especially at a time when the Kerala Congress (Mani) had deserted to the LDF camp and the Christian community is seen as drifting towards the BJP in Kerala. 

In fact, Anto Antony was nearly declared as the new KPCC chief when Sudhakaran staged a surprise revolt. After his supposedly "cordial" meeting with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi - during which he said the leaders gave no hint that they wanted a change -  Sudhakaran returned to Kerala, called the media, and lashed out at his detractors. He said a group within the party was making slanderous remarks about his health and wanted him pushed to a corner. Sudhakaran said that he had no intention of stepping down.

The barbs were clearly targeted at K C Venugopal, the AICC organisational secretary who had become the most powerful Kerala leader in Delhi after A K Antony's voluntary semi-retirement and the age-induced fading away of leaders like Vayalar Ravi and P J Kurien. 

A powerful section led by Venugopal and opposition leader V D Satheesan were disappointed with Sudhakaran's performance, and their objection stemmed mostly from their perception that he was not taking on the BJP like he would the CPM. It was also felt that multiple ailments had slowed him down. 

The central leadership was convinced of Sudhakaran's fading prowess even while acknowledging the strength he brought to the party, particularly in the north. Realising that his removal was imminent, Sudhakaran reportedly told the central leadership that he would not go down without a fight if a man of his choice was not picked to replace him. If the party wanted him out, he insisted on Sunny Joseph as his replacement.

Sudhakaran's surprise revolt against Venugopal scuppered Anto's chances. Top Congress sources said that the revolt was a shrewd move by Sudhakaran to sustain his hold on the party even after he was ejected from the pinnacle. Sunny Joseph, though identified with the I group in the Congress, had always been close to Sudhakaran. Both are Kannur-based leaders.

Sudhakaran has always been considered the natural leader of Congress workers in Kannur. Irrespective of group affiliations, Congress leaders in the north gravitated towards him. Sunny, too, was respectful of Sudhakaran, even if he had always come across as an independent politician with a mind of his own.

When his name did the rounds as a possible replacement, Sunny had called up Sudhakaran to say that he had not made any deliberate move to push his case for the post. 

However, sources said that Sunny had also conveyed to Sudhakaran that he would not shy away from taking up the KPCC chief post if it was offered to him. Sudhakaran had reportedly told his supporters that this was why he had always liked and respected Sunny. "He will be fair," was Sudhakaran's assessment of Sunny to an associate Onmanorama talked to. This episode was also emblematic of Sunny's non-ambitious nature and his firmness. 

Sunny has always been seen as a neutral Congress leader who has consciously kept away from nasty group politics. Even A K Antony had once referred to Sunny as the "gentleman" of the party.  

Sunny was more a people's man, hugely popular in the high ranges. He has been representing Peravoor for nearly 15 years, ever since he wrested the seat from CPM's K K Shylaja in 2011. In the shadow of the Western Ghats, Peravoor is one of the areas in Kerala most susceptible to human-wildlife conflict. Inside the Assembly, Sunny has been the most aggressive and articulate voice for the people living along the fringes of the forest. His popularity, therefore, extends outside Kannur, to even high ranges like Idukki. Nonetheless, it is also said that his acceptance is largely confined to the Malabar area.

Sunny's supposedly limited appeal was considered Anto's advantage. The dominant thinking in the Congress was that its top leadership should be from the south, where the party's influence was on a kind of terminal decline. Southern Kerala was also where two dominant Hindu social organisations - NSS and SNDP - have great influence.

"Not only would Anto have been acceptable to the church, which is borne out by his repeated victories in Pathanamthitta, but he was also better placed to influence Sukumaran Nair and Vellappally Natesan. In fact, he had consistently secured their support in Pathanamthitta," a top Congress leader close to Venugopal said.

Eventually, the potential damage that a wounded Sudhakaran could cause the party prompted the high command to opt for "gentleman" Sunny.