THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: K M Mani, a veteran of adjustment politics, always had a trick up his sleeves to outsmart all naysayers.Twenty-two months after he quit the UDF and went independent following bribery allegations, he scripted a grand re-entry to the coalition with a prized Rajya Sabha seat for his son Jose K Mani.
The current political move, which has taken the Congress in the state by storm, can be considered another coup d’état planned by Mani, whose politics of adjustment and survival is legendary. But his survival in the tough politics of central Kerala can be gauged only during the 2019 general elections and depends on how the UDF performs in places such as Kottayam, Pathanamthitta and Idukki.
Mani, who has been keeping an equidistant policy from both the UDF and the LDF after going solo two years ago, had tried to gain a foothold in the NDA and held several rounds of discussions with national- and state-level BJP leaders.
This was what former KPCC president V M Sudheeran alluding to when he asked: “What is the assurance that Mani will not align with the BJP tomorrow? Mani must clarify that he will not be part of the BJP.”
Those who know the politics practised by Mani vouch that anything is possible as far as he is concerned.
A senior Congress leader, who did not want to be named, said, “Mani has tasted blood and has got the Rajya Sabha seat as a gift from the faction-ridden Congress. He knows how to extract more pounds of flesh. He was conducting detailed discussions with the CPM leadership (prior to his UDF re-entry) but when he could not extract what he had bargained for, he shifted focus towards the UDF.”
Mani’s tryst with LDF
Being part of LDF is nothing new for Mani. He had joined the LDF government in 1980 and when the then Antony group quit the LDF and came back to the UDF fold.Mani then had openly stated that he would continue with the LDF, but within 24 four hours, he jumped fence and came back to UDF fold.
He came close to gaining a Union Cabinet post when the Chandrasekhar-led United Front government came to power in the Centre with the support of the Congress. Then Congress chief Rajiv Gandhi invited then Kerala Congress MP P C Thomas to be part of the Cabinet. Sensing a chance to grab power, Mani put himself forward, only to be thwarted by Chandrasekhar who decided not induct anyone who was not part of either houses.
Later, Mani tried to get a foothold in the Vajpayee government (1999-2004). He promised L K Advani that he would help the BJP grow in state and requested a Cabinet post as a reward. But when nothing happened for two years, BJP inducted P C Thomas, who had by then left the Kerala Congress and floated the Indian Federal Democratic Party.
Political experts say that Mani’s decision to leave the UDF following allegations of his involvement in the bar bribery scam was part of his tactics to keep all options open. Even the CPM wooed Mani knowing his party’s hold in central Kerala politics. While CPM kept waiting, Mani struck a deal with UDF for his grand re-entry. His trusted friend and IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty gave him all the necessary ammunition and fire power.