The Hindu : Karunakaran nominee defeated

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 15, 2003

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Karunakaran nominee defeated

By Girish Menon

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM April 14. The veteran Congress leader, K. Karunakaran, suffered a major setback today when his nominee, the rebel candidate, Kodoth Govindan Nair, was defeated in the Rajya Sabha elections, polling just 26 votes.

The two official Congress candidates, Vayalar Ravi and Thennala Balakrishna Pillai, had a smooth sail — polling 38 and 36 votes respectively. The CPI(M) candidate, Chandran Pillai, kept his date with victory, polling 39 votes. But given the strength of the Opposition LDF in the Assembly, Mr. Pillai polled one vote less than the 40 he was expected to get. One vote was declared invalid. The ballot, it appears, should have gone in favour of the Congress' official candidates.

The victory of the two official Congress candidates marks a turning point in the factional politics in the Congress. It establishes the supremacy of the high command, which refused to change its candidates in the face of the pressure tactics adopted by Mr. Karunakaran. The State leadership appeared to have beaten back Mr. Karunakaran's advances through clever manoeuvre, which included allotment of votes to the MLAs in such a way that the official candidates got the requisite 36 first preferential votes.

The anti-Karunakaran forces believe that they were able to get at least five votes from Mr. Karunakaran's camp and that his nominee was able to notch up 26 votes with help from some of the UDF partners.

The three seats fell vacant following the retirement of three LDF members, S. Ramachandran Pillai, J. Chitharanjan, and C.O. Paulose. Given the current configuration in the Assembly, it was possible for the UDF to win two seats and the LDF one.

The results could be termed as sweet for the Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, for several reasons. This happened to be the first occasion in the last 10 years when he was pitted against Mr. Karunakaran in an electoral battle, albeit by proxy.

On the previous occasion, Mr. Antony was defeated in the KPCC presidential elections in 1991. Since then, the rival factions have always shied away from a trial of strength, opting for consensus.

Mr. Karunakaran can take consolation that he continues to enjoy the support of 26 MLAs. But it would still leave him uncertain about the loyalty of some of his MLAs. The results would also make his son and KPCC president, K. Muralidharan's post a bit uncomfortable.

After having established a working relationship with the Chief Minister, the row over the allotment of Rajya Sabha seats has found Mr. Muralidharan's stock dipping. He just about saved his post by retracting from his impulsive action of submitting his resignation.

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