By P. Sreekumaran
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The most significant feature of
the seat allocation talks in the Congress and the party-led United Democratic
Front (UDF) is the determined attempt by the Congress High Command to
marginalise former chief minister and senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy.
The
wily politician that he is, Chandy has so far refused to succumb to the
pressure to contest the Lok Sabha elections in the State. Chandy supporters are
unhappy because they feel that it is a concerted effort to keep Chandy away
from the State, his area of action for over four decades. The strategy is to
reduce the stranglehold of groups on the Congress organization in the State.
Chandy and leader of the opposition Ramesh Chennithala head the two prominent
groups in the state party known as the A group and the I group respectively.
There
is a delicious irony to the High Command strategy. It is attempting to project
a leader who had fallen from grace following the crushing defeat the UDF
suffered in the last assembly elections, and much before that over the infamous
solar scam.
To
the chagrin of Chandy, the AICC in charge of the State, Mukul Wasnik has also
piled up pressure on him to contest the Lok Sabha elections, of course, with
the nod from the Congress president.
Kerala
Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, Mullappaly Ramachandran, another
Rahul Gandhi loyalist, has lent his full support to the send-Chandy-to-the Lok
Sabha mov. Winnability is the sole criterion for candidate selection, and
Chandy is a candidate who can win from any constituency from the State, he
claimed!
What
remains to be seen is how the political drama will play out. Can Mullappally
succeed where VM Sudheeran, a former KPCC chief failed? That is the question
doing the rounds in Congress corridors these days. It may be mentioned that
Sudheeran had attempted an oust-Oommen Chandy move with the blessings of the
Congress High Command but dismally ailed owing to stubborn resistance from
Chandy and his supporters.
But
times have changed since then. Rahul had not become the party chief then. Now he is in full control. His stature and
clout has increased manifold in the wake of the Congress’s victories in
Rajasthan, Madhya radish and Chhattisgarh assembly elections. That being the
ground reality, Chandy will have to obey the High Command fiat this time around.
Meanwhile,
the rumblings within the UDF over seat allocation have become loud and
strident. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second most powerful
constituent o the UDF, has sprung an unpleasant surprise on the Congress by
hinting at the possibility of demanding a third Lok Sabha seat for the party. Left to itself, the IUML leadership would
have refrained from pressing its claim. But it is under pressure from the Youth
League, the youth wing of the party, and the Samastha, which is the main backer
of the IUML. The IUML has every right to demand a third seat, given its
influence and strength, especially in Malappuram district in particular and in other districts of
Malabar as well, assert the Youth League.
The
Congress leadership has ruled out a third set for the time being. But it is
evident that the last word on the issue has not been said. If the past record
is anything to go by, the Congress leadership in the State will yield to the
IUML’s politics of brinkmanship.
(IPA
Service)
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