KOCHI: Kerala Congress (M) chairman Jose K Mani’s move to implead in the High Court case against capturing wild jumbo Arikomban is seen as his party’s strategy to warm up to the farmers of the hilly district ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. It is learnt that KC(M), the third largest constituent in the LDF, is likely to demand three seats, including Idukki and Pathanamthitta, in addition to the sitting seat Kottayam.
Party insiders said chances are high for the party to get an additional seat apart from its sitting seat in the current political scenario and the leadership is mainly eyeing Idukki, the district which has a considerable population of settler farmers.
Even before switching over to the Left camp, the Mani faction had staked a claim for the Idukki LS seat but the Congress outrightly rejected its demand. In the LDF camp, the CPM has been fielding independent candidates in the constituency for the past two consecutive terms. Though the experiment proved successful in 2014, CPM-backed independent Joice George lost to Congress’ Dean Kuriakose by a margin of over 1 lakh votes in 2019 polls.
The KC(M) is eyeing the seat considering the party’s clout in the highland and low ranges. The CPM is facing difficulty in fielding a suitable candidate in the Congress stronghold. Currently, the man-animal conflict is a burning issue in the hilly district as local residents are up in arms against the government demanding safety for their lives and properties. Party chief Jose K Mani has taken an adamant stand that laws should be revised so that the protection of human life and property gets priority.
Dean Kuriakose, who represents the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency, has also filed a plea seeking to implead in the case, and significantly, Jose, followed suit. According to the petition filed by Jose K Mani before the HC, wildlife attacks have assumed alarming proportions in the state. As many as 1,233 people were killed in such attacks in the last decade alone. Wild elephants alone killed 105 people in Kerala between 2018 and 2022. Jose K Mani said he was not against the interests of wildlife. The law protects animals. However, the law does not provide any protection to any person who kills a wild animal in self-defence and for protecting his family, Jose K Mani stated in the petition.
Admitting the political intention of Jose K Mani and others, Sebastian Paul, former MP, and legal expert observed that the political angle weakens the case. “Had farmers and local residents approached the court, it would have had a better impact. But the politicised litigations only help weaken the case,” he pointed out.
However, a top functionary of KC (M) said that the party has not entered into the discussions related to LS polls now. “The party chairman intervened in the case as it is a serious matter affecting farmers and local residents and the Kerala Congress could stand along with the interests of the farmers only. There is no need to bring politics into the issue,” he said.