The Congress leadership in the State is finding itself on the defensive owing to the demands made by its major partners in the United Democratic Front for additional seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Socialist Janata (Democratic) has already put forward its demand for either Vadakara or Wayanad Lok Sabha seat at the formal dialogues that were launched here recently. The Kerala Congress (M) has given notice for an additional seat, Idukki, over and above the Kottayam seat it contested and won last time. The party is expected to make a formal demand when talks resume here on Monday.
The Indian Union Muslim League has not demanded an additional seat, but its general secretary E.T. Mohammed Basheer maintained that his party was eligible for a third seat relative to its strength. The party, according to coalition sources, will insist on a third seat if the Congress was to concede the Kerala Congress (M)’s demand.
For the last two decades, the Congress has been contesting in 17 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats, leaving two to the Indian Union Muslim League and one for the Kerala Congress (M). The UDF has added an ally, the Socialist Janata (Democratic), since the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. There is unanimity in the UDF that the SJ(D) deserves a Lok Sabha seat and current negotiations are focused on which seat that party would get. Moreover, the Congress does not want to lose the advantage it would get in Malabar through its alliance with the SJD.
The Kerala Congress (M)’s demand has given a new pitch to the seat-sharing exercise because this is for the first time in the last two decades that it has taken a vociferous stand. The fact that the Congress heads a coalition with a slender majority has made its position vulnerable. The Kerala Congress (M) is eying a seat which is a core constituency for the Congress in Central Travancore. The party leadership is under pressure to contest in and win the maximum number of seats since the number-game is going to be crucial in Delhi, post-election.
The Congress leadership wants to settle a deal with the Kerala Congress (M) at the earliest to prevent a slide in the relations between the two parties. Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M. Mani too is under pressure because he has to counter the P.J. Joseph faction, which has been lobbying for the Idukki seat it had won earlier as a coalition partner in the LDF. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala, who is also Home Minister, expressed confidence about amicable settlement with the coalition partners
