THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The vertical split in the Kerala Congress will lead to several permutations and combinations with many possibilities cropping up.There are six MLAs in the party, which is a constituent of the UDF, and there are possibilities of a major realignment of political forces.
P J Joseph had a long bonhomie with the Left front. But according to sources in the Kerala Congress, he may not be aligning with the Left front as already there are Kerala Congress splinter groups with the front - Kerala Congress (B) of R Balakrishna Pillai, Kerala Congress (Scaria) of Scaria Thomas and Democratic Kerala Congress led by Francis George. Joseph has to reach out for a consensus with the other Kerala Congress parties within the LDF and move for a merger which is a remote possibility.
Interestingly, the Congress had initiated several rounds of backdoor discussions with the Kerala Congress leadership with the involvement of Catholic bishops and a Cardinal. Sources told Express that even after the bishops and the Cardinal spoke at length to both the groups, a truce could not be brokered.
KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran told Express, “I have spoken to Jose K Mani and P J Joseph and it is unfortunate such a situation has come up in the Kerala Congress at a time when all the secular and democratic forces should stay together to face the larger threat of fascist forces in the country.” There are clear indications that the Congress party has a major role to play in the Kerala Congress split and the party is trying its best for a patch-up between the two warring factions.
Senior leader of the Congress party and former Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha P J Kurien said, “I don’t think the Kerala Congress has split formally and there are still possibilities of a truce and lot of backdoor discussions are taking place.”
Both factions know that there are many things to lose. Hence, there is still a possibility of rearrangement. Senior leader of the Congress party and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is also one of the major pillars in the behind-the-scene operations taking place at the behest of the Congress.
It is to be noted that Chandy has always been a major strength for the Kerala Congress and the party had banked heavily on him for seats in the elections. In the latest incident, Jose got the Rajya Sabha seat at the expense of a senior leader like Kurien and Chandy was behind that move.
The days ahead will be of interest for the Kerala Congress’ scheme of things and there are possibilities of realignment. If the split materialises, then there are possibilities of a major fight erupting between the two groups in controlling the properties of the party.
Will be with official group, says C F Thomas
Kottayam: Making his stance clear on the ongoing dispute between P J Joseph and Jose K Mani in Kerala Congress (M), party deputy chairman C F Thomas said he would be with the official faction that is recognised by the Election Commission. Thomas, who is hopeful of resolving the issues plaguing the party, said there was only one KC(M). “When KC(M) was formed, I had attended the first meeting convened to name it along with K M Mani. I will continue with the party. Efforts at reconciliation will continue,” said Thomas.