KOCHI: With the party managing to win only two of the 10 seats it contested, the discontent in the Kerala Congress PJ Joseph faction over the recent restructuring of the outfit is likely to widen in the coming days.
While the party won two sitting seats — Thodupuzha and Kaduthuruthy — it lost the Changanassery seat, represented by veteran leader C F Thomas, who shifted his allegiance to the Joseph faction during the split under Jose K Mani, son of party stalwart late K M Mani. Though the party chairman, Jose, lost the Pala seat, KC(M) won five out of the 12 seats it contested.
If the discontent aired by former MP Francis George over the restructuring of Kerala Congress is any indication, the newly-merged outfit will witness a tug of war to name the successor to Joseph, said party insiders. The increasing influence of Mons Joseph, MLA, who was recently elected the executive chairman of the party, has prompted George to dissent openly.
Insiders said after the disastrous poll results, the possibility of another split in the Kerala Congress — which has witnessed several splits and mergers over the years — cannot be brushed aside. Earlier, an internal feud between Joseph and Jose K Mani over the successor to the late K M Mani in the KC(M) had led to a fierce year-long fight and the subsequent split in the party.
“P J Joseph took a unilateral decision to allocate seats to V J Laly in Changanassery and Kunju Koshy Paul in Tiruvalla without listening to the voices of other leaders. Laly, who was defeated in the recent local body polls, was fielded, denying the seat to C F Thomas’ brother,” said a party leader requesting anonymity.
Joseph said in Thodupuzha that the party was not facing any existential crisis. “We have two MLAs and we will take up the agrarian issues and people’s problems,” he added.
Francis George-led mutiny in the offing?
If the discontent aired by former MP Francis George over the restructuring of Kerala Congress is any indication, the newly-merged outfit is set to witness a tug of war to name the successor to Joseph, said party insiders.