All aboard the Congress boat

Two years ago, Sonia Gandhi had to put off her visit to Kerala due to infighting in the state Congress. However, Kerala's politics has since taken a complete U-turn. This time, not only did she become the first member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to inaugurate the famous Nehru boat race at Allepy, but also had many veterans eagerly wait for a meeting with her. For example, former CM K Karunakaran is waiting for Gandhi's nod to make him a Governor at the age of 91, while his son K Muraleedharan, who has quit the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is in the queue for his re-entry into Congress. M P Vereendra Kumar, who had led one of the factions of the Janata Dal for many years, is now seeking to get into Congress too.