The proposed merger of the two factions of the Kerala Congress, led by P J Joseph and K M Mani, shows there are no limits for political opportunism. It was because of the widely-held perception that the next elections would be favourable to the United Democratic Front (UDF) that Joseph decided to quit the V S Achuthanandan government. His image had suffered a dent when he was forced to quit the government once on an issue of moral turpitude. Joseph had been with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) for several decades, making him anathema to the UDF. Thus he found the only alternative was to merge his outfit in Mani’s party and thereby get the UDF label. Whether the merger is at the behest of some Catholic bishops or not, the fact is, Joseph has not been able to give a cogent reason for leaving the LDF. His argument that the LDF’s policies on education were unacceptable does not carry conviction as he had not said a word in protest when those very policies were pursued by the government. Under the circumstances, if CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan calls Joseph’s an act of treachery, he is not wide of the mark.
Again, it was not altruism that forced Mani to embrace Joseph, who was his sworn rival until recently. His own calculation was that the merger would help the Kerala Congress to bargain for more seats and thereby become the second largest party in the UDF, a position enjoyed by the Muslim League. But he could not have anticipated the kind of protest the proposed merger evoked, not just from the Congress but from other UDF constituents as well. Allegations that Joseph had hastily cleared several contracts for road construction a few days before he was sacked as PWD minister add to his troubles. But Joseph and Mani believe they can easily brazen it out. The LDF, happy that a rump of the Joseph group, led by P C Thomas, has not ditched the ruling coalition, should realise that it is the lucrative ministerial post on offer that has kept it glued to the LDF. What is forgotten is that since the LDF came to power, as many as five parties have left it like rats leaving a sinking ship. If the RSP and the CPI continue to be in the LDF, it is because there are no other options available to them. Needless to say, all this does not show big brother CPI(M) in a good light.