Steeped in Sleaze

THE RESIGNATION OF 35-YEAR-OLD KERALA legislator Rahul Mamkootathil—who famously used Google Pay for his flirtatious chats besides other well-known messaging platforms such as Telegram—as state Youth Congress president and his subsequent suspension from the prima­ry membership of the Congress party have thrown up serious questions about carnal indiscretions by politicians in the age of digitalisation, where ease of communication comes with the risk of enhanced surveillance and a footprint that refuses to go away.

The young Congress politician, however, gets to keep his posi­tion as MLA, although indications were that he would be asked to quit as a people’s representative, too, ahead of the crucial state election early next year. Mamkootathil became an MLA after winning a fiercely fought election in a November 2024 bypoll in the Palakkad Assembly seat, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came second. The direct fight in Kerala is often between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by the Com­munist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM.

Mamkootathil, now disgraced and embar­rassed, comes across—based on news reports and leaks, including screenshots of WhatsApp chats and audio clips of phone conversations—as a la­dies’ man who was in multiple relationships with women, some of whom may have known only too well of his other liaisons. That he successfully wooed accomplished young women working as TV anchors and journalists, besides those from political families within the Congress fold—none of whom could be considered credulous partners in romance—points to the fact that not only was he charismatic but versatile as well.

Interestingly, a perusal of the incriminating chats and audio recordings indicates that, despite his wandering ways, Mamkootathil’s partners nevertheless displayed a sense of loyalty towards him and protectiveness about his personal and political future. The leak of a purported phone chat between him and one of his partners reveals that Mamkootathil forced her to have an abortion. In a widely aired audiotape, the MLA is heard tell­ing the woman she cannot have the child against her protestations that he need not worry about the future of either himself or the child because she would not bother him with its upbringing. She says she will raise the child on her own, keep­ing the father’s name anonymous. At one point in the call, he says that if his intentions were to kill her, he could have had it done in no time—an off-the-cuff statement that may or may not have suggested his true intentions.

Veiled threats aside, Mamkootathil’s innova­tive ways for exchanging flirtatious comments— of using even payment platforms such as Google Pay—have been a cause for mirth as well as shock. What is more worrying to the womenfolk, especially those within Congress, many of whom have asked for strong action against the MLA, is that, notwith­standing social media attacks, the impunity that political leaders tend to enjoy can create an illusion of being unchallengeable as they rise further in politics and occupy more powerful positions.

Mamkootathil has so far been a firebrand politician, who, in sharp contrast with the style of Congress leaders in the state, re­sembles youthful CPM politicians of yore, excelling equally in street-fighting, debates, rhetoric and rabble-rousing. The scandal only fuels the stereotype of ambitious and powerful men also being successful seducers of women. Young and handsome poli­ticians, especially those like Mamkootathil who are forceful in TV debates, on the street and electorally successful, besides being on the right side of power, exude sex appeal and, if they so wish, can channelise all such gains and charisma into wooing women, especially ones who are gainfully employed and seeking an ambi­tious partner. One could call it converting political capital into personal allure, which is what many notable political figures have done.

Notorious philanderers among the political classes include former US Presidents John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton, Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, former Italian Prime Minis­ter and business tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, many British prime ministers, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and China’s Mao. Some of them were refined connoisseurs in matters of romance, similar to 18^th-century Venetian libertine Giacomo Casanova himself, who had penned in his autobiography that the “chief business” of his life has always been to indulge his senses. He wrote, “I never knew anything of greater importance. I felt myself born for the fair sex, I have ever loved it dearly, and I have been loved by it as often and as much as I could. I have likewise always had a great weakness for good living, and I ever felt passionately fond of ev­ery object which excited my curiosity.” Some others, however, branded with his name in later centuries, were in fact ruthless predators without finesse or polish.

While political power can be a potent tool for seduction, it appears that Mamkootathil went about it in a far more reckless fashion than he should have; further, he was at times impolite, demeaning and indecent towards his partners as well as those who did not reciprocate his advances. Unfortunately for him, his calculations were mistaken, as was the hope that he would be politically protected regardless of his personal actions.

ACCORDING TO SREEKUMAR MANAYIL, a Kerala-based political commentator and journalist close to Congress, things took a turn for the worse after Malayalam actor Rini Ann George accused a youth leader from a major political party in Kerala of repeatedly sending her offensive messages and even inviting her to a hotel room. Although Ann George did not name the politician, Mamkootathil’s name was dragged into TV and online debates as well as social media comments. “At least for the past three to four years, various complaints from women have come up within the Congress party against Rahul over him mak­ing sexual advances to multiple people,” notes Manayil, who feels that Ann George’s accusations gave them the opportunity to air their grievances, although not officially. Coverage of the news on Mamkootathil’s alleged escapades and improper conduct went viral, to the extent that most TV channels in Kerala devoted entire prime-time slots and created social-media exclusives to discuss the politician’s relationships as well as his purportedly indecent propos­als to people who rejected him.

Shortly thereafter, transgender activist Avanthika Vishnu al­leged that Mamkootathil discussed “rape fantasies” with her and told her that he wanted to rape her. Then came the audio tape of a seemingly flustered Mamkootathil pleading with one of his partners to terminate her pregnancy.

According to Manayil, Mamkootathil’s meteoric rise in the Congress scheme of things is intrinsically linked to his proximity to party lawmaker and rising star Shafi Parambil, the 42-year-old who enjoys tremendous clout within the organisation and outside (so far), especially among the Muslim community that is keen to see a leader from among them who is acceptable to all sections of Kerala society. Parambil was previously the president of Kerala Youth Congress. When Parambil stepped down from the post, he worked towards ensuring that Mamkootathil succeeded him.

After having succeeded in doing that, Parambil set his sights on anointing Mamkootathil as his successor as MLA from Palakkad after Parambil chose to contest the Lok Sabha polls last year from the Vadakara constituency. He won by an emphatic margin against CPM contender KK Shailaja, who, during the Covid-19 lockdown, had earned a name for herself as a “rockstar” state health minister.

Various political observers like Manayil consider Parambil’s suc­cessful strategy in making Mamkootathil an MLA from Palakkad, thus consolidating his gains within the organisational framework of the state Congress, created a wedge between several leaders op­posed to Parambil and his mentor VD Satheesan, both locally in Palakkad and elsewhere. It is also said in some Congress circles that even Satheesan, who backed the Parambil-Mamkootathil duo, was not particularly happy with the rise in their prominence within the party. “Their arrogance was their undoing. They publicly said abusive things about senior political leaders of the Congress, much to the anguish of several leaders opposed to Sathesan,” a senior Con­gress leader told Open.

That many party leaders were passed over to make room for Mamkootathil, whose election as Youth Congress chief was marred by contro­versy over fake voter ID cards, and the fear that Parambil and Mamkootathil would begin to wield huge influence within the state unit of Congress, meanwhile, has brought many op­ponents of Satheesan together, weakening any immediate prospects of Parambil playing a bigger role in the party. Parambil has stood firmly behind Mamkootathil, prompting the media to question the political morality of such posturing.

The question of what is consensual and what is not is also being hotly debated in Kerala today, following Mamkootathil’s suspension from Con­gress, although the MLA has denied any wrongdo­ing. “Giving a sexual partner the impression that he is committed to them and procuring consent for sex is different from mere seeking of sexual pleasure. Those who get such hopes end up going through a lot of mental agony when they realise what was actually happening,” a journalist with a TV channel said, adding that she was speak­ing from the experiences of some of her friends. “Their silence doesn’t mean that they have moved on. Which is the mistake many well-wishers of the predators make,” she said, referring to claims that there are no formal complaints against Mamkootathil.

Women leaders who Open spoke to within Congress are up­set about the party leadership not specifying a time frame for Mamkootathil’s suspension, which they argue is a ruse to protect him and bring him back to party committees in a short period. According to the disciplinary rules in the Congress party’s consti­tution, part c of clause 6, which deals with “punishment”, states: “Provided that if any person against whom disciplinary action has been taken and punishment awarded, is a member of any local body, legislature, Parliament or holds any other position by virtue of his being a Congressman, he may also be called upon to resign from such bodies.” This has not happened.

Former Youth Congress office-bearer Tara Tojo Alex wants the state government to step in and act against Mamkootathil. She posted on Facebook: “Our country’s judicial system states that ev­ery crime is against the State. This means that the government here bears the responsibility to protect the lives, property, and dignity of the people. Whoever obstructs that protection is committing a crime. And that crime is not against an individual, but against the State itself.” She also made a veiled attack at the young Congress leader and suggested that “no matter how much you whitewash, no matter how many stories you sing in praise, no matter how many illusions you unleash to shake the forest, those who have read or heard the Ramayana know the truth: that Ravana was a womaniser.” Some argue that Ravana is a wrong comparison made by people who do not have an understanding of our ep­ics. Regardless, such pronouncements undermine the efforts of Mamkootathil’s allies in the media and elsewhere to project the leader as a victim who acted on a consensual basis, not by foisting himself on the unwilling with promises and clumsy overtures.

For a state that prides itself on high social indices, it is natural to see more women speak up about their traumas and against their tormentors, despite some people offering the routine ap­palling excuse, “boys will be boys”, which ironically was used by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself to justify what some young Congress leaders had done on their way to a party summit when she was at the height of her political career. It is a statement that normalises toxic masculinity and assumes dangerous proportions in the hands of politicians and celebri­ties who thrive on vainglorious conceit. Those unable to control their impulses should seek medical treatment or counselling. We will soon know whether the state Congress still sticks to Mrs Gandhi’s logic or has embraced the newer values of gender justice. The duration of Mamkootathil’s suspension will confirm it.

KeralapoliticianspoliticsRahul MamkootathilSexual allegationsShafi ParambilVD Satheesan