KOCHI: Amidst speculations of a realignment of various Kerala Congress factions, close observers said a merger or even bringing various splinter groups under a common platform was unlikely to fructify going by the outcome of similar talks in the past.
As the Kerala Congress factions are major allies in the UDF, LDF and NDA, a confederation of parties on a single platform may remain a distant dream due to practical reasons, they said. Talks of unity came to the fore when leading Kerala Congress leaders, including P J Joseph, Jose K Mani, Francis George and P C Thomas, shared the dais at the Catholic Congress Global Convention held in Dubai, coming as it did after the Pala poll debacle in which KC (M) lost its bastion, mainly due to the infighting in the party.
The Kerala Congress (M) is a main constituent of the UDF while Francis George’s Democratic Kerala Congress is part of the LDF and P C Thomas-led faction is an ally of the BJP-led NDA. Besides, KC (Jacob), another splinter faction, is a UDF ally and the factions headed by R Balakrishna Pillai and Scaria Thomas are LDF constituents. A senior Kerala Congress leader said that the leaders of these parties were not ready to end the existing relationship with their fronts concerned. Hence, a unity even for agrarian issues, which the party mainly focused on, is impossible.
“There is no possibility of unity among various Kerala Congress groups in the current political scenario. Unless the various groups are flexible enough to change their current political stand, I see no possibility of a merger,” said Cyriac Thomas, former MG University vice-chancellor and political analyst.
It is pointed out that the Syro-Malabar Church attempted to unite Joseph and Jose factions on the sidelines of the Dubai meet and it turned successful to an extent as both leaders of the warring factions shared the dais for the first time after Pala poll defeat. Besides, Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, while addressing the conference in Dubai, called for unity among the political leaders who are now on various fronts owing to political differences.
Earlier, Thomas had taken the initiative to bring the leaders together for a common good, especially to highlight the issues of farmers. However, a next-level discussion, which was expected to happen in Dubai itself, did not occur though Thomas met Jose on Wednesday night.
“Though formal discussions were not held in Dubai, the meeting called for the unity of Kerala Congress leaders despite political differences,” said Thomas. Kerala Congress (Jacob) chairman Johny Nelloor said in the current political scenario, the unity of Kerala Congress was the need of the hour. “It is high time all the Kerala Congress parties united despite differences. Otherwise, there is no political existence for the party,” he added.