The United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership has appointed an eight-member panel to sort out differences between the Congress and the Kerala Congress(M) in Idukki district. The panel will have four members each from both the parties. A decision to this effect was taken at the bilateral talks between leaders of the two parties on Wednesday.
The decision is in line with an earlier one taken in the case of Malappuram, where the Congress is at loggerheads with the Indian Union Muslim League in around 20 local bodies. The main thrust of the mechanism is to reduce differences among partners and project a united face before the electorate.
The Congress leadership also decided to adopt an accommodative posture with regard to the Janata Dal (United) in Malabar districts, including Kozhikode, which the party perceives as its base.
District leaders of the Congress and the Kerala Congress (M) have been asked to come to the State capital to discuss the Idukki compromise formula. The Congress team comprises District Congress Committee president Roy Paulose, E.M. Agusthy, A. Asokan, and M.P. Thomas. The Kerala Congress (M) would announce its nominees later. The dispute between the two parties is mainly about the refusal to give up the posts of presiding officers and other panchayat office-bearers, flouting the agreement of sharing these posts during the tenure of these institutions.
The JD(U)’s complaint is that it does not get the kind of consideration that it got while it was in the Left Democratic Front. Not to be left behind, Kerala Congress (Jacob) chairman Johnny Nelloor has submitted a five-page note to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, and KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran laying out the party’s grievances on seat-sharing.
The panel will have four members each from the Congress and the KC(M).
