It was the proverbial bolt from the blue for the Congress leadership in the home turf of Oommen Chandy when Kerala Congress (M) in an unexpected move got its candidate Zacharias Kuthiraveli elected as the new president of Kottayam district panchayat with CPI(M) support.
Mr. Kuthiraveli received 12 votes in the 22-member district panchayat against the eight received by Congress candidate Sunny Pampady. The KC(M)-CPI(M) tie-up had its reverberations in the LDF too with the CPI lone member keeping way from casting his vote and the vote cast by the lone member of Janapaksham of P.C. George, being declared invalid. The election was necessitated by the resignation of Joshy Philip who has taken over as the new DCC president.
Later, Congress leaders K.C. Joseph, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, and Joseph Vazhackan said this was the end of the road for the KC(M) in the UDF. “The KC(M) has breached a written agreement taken on April 3 in which they were partners in the decision to elect Mr. Sunny Pampady in place of Mr. Joshy Philip, they said.
“A partner should be with the coalition in the struggles,” said Mr. Radhakrishnan. ‘‘The Congress is not a wayside inn for the migratory birds to come to roost.’’ he said when asked about the prospect of a tie-up in the next Parliament elections.
Squarely putting the responsibility for the unexpected development on Mr. Mani and Jose K. Mani, Congress leader K.C. Joseph said that such a step was not expected of a veteran leader such as K.M. Mani. The leaders alleged that the CPI(M) had taken the decision to support the KC(M) unilaterally.
“The CPI(M) has destroyed the LDF in the district through their support to Mr. Mani” they said and wanted to know their stance on Mr. Mani and his alleged corruption which they had made an issue in the last elections.
Meanwhile, the KC(M) leadership dubbed the development as one spearheaded by local leaders thereby insulating the top two, chairman K.M. Mani and son Jose K. Mani, from the controversial decision.
Addressing a press conference, KC(M) leader Stephen George, new district panchayat president Zacharias Kuthiraveli. and others said there was no agreement with the CPI(M) for support and they had fielded their candidate as an independent party. They also denied that there was an agreement with the Congress on the presidency.
Speaking to The Hindu , CPI(M) district secretary V.N. Vasavan said the decision was taken at the district panchayat-level and they had talked to all LDF partners on Wednesday morning. “The CPI said they needed more time to discuss the issue since it was a policy matter. The KC(M) is a party which is opposing both the Congress and the BJP and we are not opposed to support such a party. Moreover, there are corruption charges against the Congress-led district panchayat,” he said.
The CPI(M) will, however, sit in the opposition, he added.
