THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Putting behind the row on seat sharing and poor candidature in the local body elections, the Congress officially started bilateral talks with main ally Muslim League on Wednesday. While the League has demanded six more seats, Congress has relented on two, that too only a consensus candidate in one. On Thursday, Congress leaders will hold discussions with P J Joseph faction of Kerala Congress (M) and RSP separately. A final decision on seat sharing will be taken only after Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala’s ‘Aishwarya Kerala Yatra’ ends on February 22.
At the last UDF meeting, Chennithala had maintained that the bilateral level talks this time will be held away from the prying eyes of the media. But on Wednesday, after he along with chairman of the newly constituted election management and strategy committee Oommen Chandy and KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran met Muslim League president Panakkad Hyderali Shihab Thangal in Malappuram, the leaders themselves told reporters that the ally has demanded six more seats, apart from the 24 seats they had contested in 2016. League national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty, MP, state general secretary K P A Majeed and Youth League state president Panakkad Munavarali Shihab Thangal also attended the meeting.
It is learnt that the Congress leaders expressed their apprehensions about parting with six more seats and the ramifications it might cause in the central and southern districts. It should be recalled that the Congress’ traditional vote bank of Christian communities had expressed their apprehension of the League hijacking the UDF. At the same time, Munavarali Shihab Thangal has been urging the party leadership to allot seats to woman candidates this time.
All UDF constituents are demanding more seats as the Janata Dal (United), which is now Loktantrik Janata Dal, has joined the Left camp. In 2016, they had contested in seven seats. The undivided KC(M) had contested in 15 seats which include four seats from the Joseph faction. Now the faction is firm that it wants all 15 seats though the Jose K Mani faction has switched to LDF.
“Former K M Mani loyalists like the late C F Thomas, MLA, former Rajya Sabha MP Joy Abraham, former chief whip Thomas Unniyadan and former Tiruvalla MLA Victor T Thomas are currently in our camp. We have already asked the Congress leadership to maintain the status quo,” Mons Joseph, MLA, told TNIE.On the Pala seat, the Joseph faction is awaiting the next move of sitting MLA Mani C Kappan of NCP, who stayed away from the LDF meeting on Wednesday.
The UDF camp is hopeful of seeing Kappan leaving the LDF and joining them eventually. Currently, the emphasis of UDF allies is on deciding the number of seats each of them will get. The constituencies will be decided later. “Last time, RSP contested in five seats. This time, we would obviously demand more. Which all are those seats will be discussed within the front,” RSP leader N K Premachandran, MP, told TNIE.
The other ally, Kerala Congress (Jacob), is likely to demand four seats, though Anoop Jacob was the sole contestant from his party last time. Similarly, CMP is also expected to demand three seats. Its general secretary C P John, who had contested from Kunnamkulam, was the lone contestant. The smaller allies, Forward Bloc and Janata Dal (S) leader John John who did not go with M P Veerendrakumar to the LDF, are also expected to get one seat each.