KOTTAYAM/IDUKKI: The people’s ire against the the Kasturirangan Committee report on the Western Ghats has led to the defeat of Congress candidate Dean Kuriakose in the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency, said Jose K Mani MP here on Sunday.
Speaking at a meet-the-press convened after his remarkable victory from the Kottayam constituency in the Lok Sabha polls, Jose K Mani said it was the lack of guidance from the UPA Government that thrashed Congress’ attempts to win in Idukki.
“They should have been more careful about the issue. The Congress also lost many voters who had supported the party beyond political factionalism. There were certain issues in Idukki which could not be hided,” he said.
LDF-backed Independent candidate Joice George clinched the Idukki seat with the backing of the Church, with a margin of more than 50,000 votes. The anti-Kasturirangan report sentiment among voters made Joice’s victory easy. He was also supported by the High Range Samrakshana Samithi. However, Jose K Mani refused to comment on whether the Congress would have won the Idukki seat if Francis George was the candidate.
“Government Chief Whip P C George allegedly stayed away from the election campaign as per a decision by the UDF. It was the issue of falling rubber prices and the Kasturirangan report that caused the decline in the majority of Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony,” he said and added that the Central Government should have been vigilant in the issue of falling rubber prices.
“The UPA Government also failed to communicate to the people the success of various development projects, including food security to the base-level population,” he added.
Crisis in Idukki Too
The Congress in Idukki is struggling to keep its promise of taking action against activists who were involved in anti-party activities.
The main allegation levelled against the Idukki District Congress Committee (DCC) is its reported failure to provide the youth candidate Dean Kuriakose with a senior leader’s guidance during the campaigning.An experienced leader’s guidance was missing during the campaigns despite being requested by Dean himself, a senior Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.