THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is splitsville. While joining hands with the CPM in the Kottayam district panchayat president election on Wednesday, the Kerala Congress(M) has indicated a clear turn towards the Left. Even as party patriarch K M Mani and his son and MP Jose K Mani asserted they have no role in the alliance, any chances of KC(M) returning to the UDF fold too might have ended with the move.
After departing from the UDF fold last year, the KC(M) till now has not disturbed the prior agreements at the local body level. The party had supported IUML/UDF candidate P K Kunhalikkutty in the recent Malappuram bypoll, sparking talks about KC(M)’s return to the old den. But the latest decision has shocked the UDF and the Congress who have cried foul.
Though the move is viewed as a precursor to a formal alliance/tacit political understanding with the Left, the road ahead for KC(M) will not be smooth. Veteran leader V S Achuthanandan has already voiced his disapproval of the tie-up and the CPI is also not too enthused about the possibility of Mani joining the Left brigade.
The reason: The Left was waging a pitched political battle against Mani in the bar bribe case during the previous UDF regime. The KC(M) move might also have thrown a spanner in the designs of the BJP to rope in Mani.
Even if the KC(M) overcomes these stumbling blocks, the party will have to negate internal
forces. The Kottayam alliance was taken without taking the MLAs into confidence nor was it discussed in any forums, and there could be some suitable ramifications.
Kerala Congress (M) emerged winners in the race to the president of the Kottayam district panchayat with the strategic support of the CPM on Wednesday. The party candidate Zacharias Kuthiraveli defeated Sunny Pampady of the Congress 12-8.
Kerala will not accept Mani-CPM tie-up. Through the current decision, Mani has closed the doors on a re-entry to the UDF
Oommen Chandy
I’m standing firm on my charges against Mani. The news from Kottayam is a regional one. Let it not be true V S Achuthanandan
Entry to the LDF cannot be decided by an individual or a party. It requires deliberations at different levels. There isn’t even a proposal like that
Kanam Rajendran