Inner party squabbles have proved costly for two senior Congress leaders of the district, K. Babu and Dominic Presentation, who lost the poll battle from Thripunithura and Kochi constituencies respectively.
Life will not be the same for the duo, the former Fisheries Ministers from the district and also close confidantes of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. They were also the decision makers of the ‘A’ faction in the district. The defeat of the leaders is sure to bring to the fore the fissures in their own camp and the organisation as well.
A day after the poll results, the two leaders, who had been active in the political scene of the State for the past quarter century, were trying to come to terms with reality.
Mr. Babu, a five-term legislator, stayed at home for the day to receive party workers who came to offer their sympathies and express their solidarity.
“I stayed at home for the day to meet visitors and will become active in politics from tomorrow. I will also push the defamation case against hotelier Biju Ramesh,” said Mr. Babu, while asserting that it was premature to ask whether his political career had come to an end.
“I am trying to get accustomed with the reality. It was the political position of KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran against me that did the damage. Some campaigns in the social media depicting me as a corrupt person also might have influenced youngsters,” Mr. Babu said.
Incidentally, some sections of the employees of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Panangad, distributed sweets celebrating the defeat of Mr. Babu, who was also the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the university in his capacity as the Fisheries Minister. Moreover, the university was located in the Thripunithura Assembly constituency, which he represented for five straight terms.
Taking stock
Mr. Presentation, who went into micro-level assessment of the voting pattern in the constituency on the day, found that some of the Congress workers, who incidentally belonged to his faction, played a crucial role in ensuring his defeat. “I had written to the KPCC leadership about the disruptive role played by some workers before and after the elections. They sided with the campaign by some sections that eventually led to the shifting of the traditional vote base of the party,” he said. The rebel candidate who ate into the vote share of the party candidate also received the support from a section of the Congress leaders.
