After court battles and slugfests at the local body level, the raging contest between the Kerala Congress parties is now all set to be played out in the Assembly elections.
The joust in Central Travancore, which otherwise would have witnessed a straight, simple fight between the United Democratic Front and the Left Democratic Front, assumes significance as it sets the stage for yet another round of direct clash between two regional parties.
While the Kerala Congress(M) led by Jose K Mani, which had switched sides to the LDF, will be contesting in 13 seats, the break-away faction led by PJ Joseph is expected to represent the UDF in 10 seats. With this, the overall share of seats between the rivals rises to 23, a significant improvement from the 15 seats they contested in when the two leaders stood together as a UDF ally five years ago.
The two factions are expected to come head-to-head in as many as four seats — Kaduthuruthy, Thodupuzha, Idukki and Changanassery. The battle for Idukki, where KC(M) leader and sitting legislator Roshy Augustine will meet former parliamentarian Francis George, perhaps promises to be the most fascinating.
In Thodupuzha, the KC(M) is likely to field its senior leader KI Antony to challenge PJ Joseph, who has been representing the seat since 1970. The party, however, is yet to decide on its candidate in Kaduthuruthy to take on Mons Joseph MLA, a Joseph group strongman.
With the LDF finally allotting Changanassery to KC(M), Job Michael stands a good chance to get the party ticket, while the Joseph group is considering a handful of names as a replacement to the veteran leader CF Thomas who passed away recently.
Backing for Kappan
Although the KC(M) chairman Jose K Mani will not be facing off the Joseph group directly in Pala, his rival Mani C Kappan enjoys immense backing from Mr. Joseph.
While both groups could garner a fair number of seats regardless of the intense wrangling, the election outcome will have a considerable impact on their positions within the respective coalitions.
“With the KC(M) winning majority of the seats it contested in Kottayam and the Joseph faction faring much better over the KC(M) in Idukki, both the parties have amply demonstrated their worth at the local body level. The Assembly elections, however, present them with a different opportunity to reinforce the axiom of growth by mutation,” said a KC(M) leader in Kottayam.
