United Democratic Front (UDF) leaders have deferred their decision to meet on August 4 in view of Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M. Mani’s purported inconvenience to attend it.
Mr. Mani reportedly informed the UDF leaders that he would not be in a position to attend the meeting in view of the two-day camp of his party’s State leadership on August 6 and 7.
The party had decided earlier itself not to attend any of the UDF meetings till its State committee came up with its assessment of the reasons for the electoral defeat.
Mr. Mani had kept away from Monday’s UDF leaders’ meeting, though officially the matter was played down. The relations between the Congress and the Kerala Congress(M) are at its lowest point in recent years, with senior UDF leaders were hoping to re-establish harmony in the coalition so that it could move forward and play out its role as an opposition.
By staying away from the leaders’ meeting, Mr. Mani apparently succeeded in sending across the message he cannot be ignored yet in the UDF’s scheme of things.
The Congress leaders are expected to hold bilateral discussions in the next few days with Mr. Mani and other senior leaders of his party as part of the attempt to their post-election blues.
