Anil Antony gone, who's next in line?

Thiruvananthapuram: Departure of Anil Antony to the BJP has come a rude jolt to the Congress in Kerala leaving one question on everyone's lips: who's next in line to quit?.

Even though Anil had expressed his unhappiness with the party, where his father has been the biggest icon in Kerala, an earlier report attributing to Anil that he will not join the BJP, indicates that the decision was not impulsive. It seems to be a calculated move and the political grapevine is that there were discussions at the highest level in the BJP and when the green signal came, Anil took the plunge.

When the news became public when his press conference was aired live, it brought cheer to the Kerala unit of the CPI(M) and the BJP ofcourse.

Soon the cyber world sprang into action with questions being raised on who's next as the CPI(M)'s stock statement for a while has been the Congress has turned into a recruiting agency of the BJP.

Now with BJP getting a prized catch, a few names from the Congress are doing rounds which include former MLAs.

For long, grapevine has been abuzz with rumours of Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor likely to switch over, but those close to him know that he will never think of the BJP. It can be some other party but he is keeping his cards close to the chest baffling his well wishers.

A medic critic on condition of anonymity said even though Anil was a "nobody" in the real world of Congress politics in both the state or national level, for BJP, it has come as a huge moral victory.

"Pertinent question that now arises is if Antony's son can, why can't others, as even Christian bishops from Kerala are making a beeline to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, giving clear indications that for the community, the BJP is no longer an untouchable commodity.

The CPI(M) appears to be buoyant as they know that a weak Congress is a huge boost for them, as the BJP can never eat into the votes of the Left," said the critic.