The Hindu : RS polls disrupt UDF ties

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 19, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

RS polls disrupt UDF ties

By Girish Menon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM APRIL. 18. The fall-out of the controversial Rajya Sabha elections is not confined to the Congress alone, but has left a swath of problems in the UDF as well.

The two UDF partners, the Kerala Congress(Jacob) and the Kerala Congress(B), are feeling uneasy becuase the two parties are now being cornered for having allegedly voted for the official candidates. They are now on the defensive and are under attack by a section in the Congress for having voted against the party's official candidates, Vayalar Ravi and Thennala Balakrishna Pillai.

The Water Resources Minister, T. M. Jacob, and the Transport Minister, R. Balakrishna Pillai, have been trying hard to explain their position, but it has not carried any conviction so far with the pre-dominant section in the Congress leadership in the State. The needle of suspicion has been pointed at them because of the statements issued by the two parties on the eve of the elections to the effect that they would vote in such a manner which would strengthen the UDF.

Mr. Jacob had explained soon after the elections that it would be easy to find out his party's stand if the allocation of votes to each of the UDF MLAs is examined. Matters are moving at a swift pace, pushing these two parties to a corner. The Kerala Congress(Jacob) has already started making noises against this campaign, with its Chairman, Johnny Nellore, making it clear in an interview with a private television channel that it would be difficult for his party to continue in the UDF in the prevailing atmosphere of suspicion.

The sense of insecurity is heightened because of the fact that the Kerala Congress(Jacob) and the Kerala Congress(B) are smaller constituents with four MLAs between them when compared to the UDF's tally of 100 MLAs. Besides, Mr. Pillai and Mr. Jacob are reckoned as sympathisers of Mr. Karunakaran.

These two parties are in fact being subjected to some high voltage psychological pressure because if at all the inner party differences in the Congress were to take a turn for the worse, the numbers in the Assembly would turn out to be crucial. It is also noteworthy that these two parties are not acceptable to the LDF at this point of time as they have always taken strong anti-Marxist positions in the past.

In view of the prevailing suspicion, the two Kerala Congress parties might find the going tough in the Antony Cabinet. The Water Resources Department, under Mr. Jacob, and the Transport Department, under Mr. Pillai, had come in for some higher allocations in this year's budget. Given the current swelter, it is possible that disbursement of budgetary allocation might not be as speedy as they might expect, thereby stifling their functioning.

The two smaller Kerala Congress parties are also uneasy for another reason. News reports about the Kerala Congress(Joseph)'s moves to quit the LDF is also a matter of concern. It is believed that the natural course for P. J. Joseph would be to merge his party with the Kerala Congress(M) led by K. M. Mani. If this were to happen, it would make the Kerala Congress(M) a stronger force in Central Travancore politics. It is well known that Mr. Jacob and Mr. Pillai are not well disposed towards Mr. Mani. A stronger Mani would not be in their larger interests.

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