Amidst speculations of it keeping all options open till the upcoming local body elections, a steering committee meeting of the Kerala Congress(M) faction led by Jose K. Mani here on Tuesday entrusted the party leadership to decide on the future course of action.
Addressing media persons after the meeting, Mr. Mani said the meeting decided to convene meetings of the party workers at different levels by July 10 and kick-start preparations for the upcoming local body elections. “The KC(M) has decided to go ahead by holding together the working class and farmers. At the same time, the party steering committee has entrusted the leadership to deliberate on the future course of action and come out with an appropriate decision at an opportune moment,” he said.
Mr. Mani used the occasion to launch a scathing attack on leader of the rival KC(M) faction P.J. Joseph accusing him of attempting to hijack the party following the death of K.M. Mani. “The only mistake that we did was to give Mr. Joseph political asylum during a crisis. What he did instead was to launch an all-out attempt to hijack the party, its offices and even the house where K.M. Mani had lived,” he said.
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Mr. Mani accused the United Democratic Front (UDF) of failing to remember the contributions of K.M. Mani, who served as a source of strength to the coalition for about 38 years since its formation.
Meanwhile, the ouster of the Mani faction from the coalition has cast a shadow over the functioning of several local bodies across Kottayam. Besides, the Kottayam district panchayat, which is the bone of contention, the UDF and the KC(M) Mani group had entered into power-sharing arrangements in several panchayats, including Ramapuram, Karur, Bharananganam and Kidangoor panchayats, the Changanassery municipality and a couple of other block panchayats.
Official sources, however, maintain that there is still room for reconciliation though nothing concrete will happen till the local body elections. “That both sides have not rejected the possibility of a reconciliation is amply evident from the mellowed responses even a day after the break up. In any case, the church's position will be crucial in determining the actual direction of this issue,” said a senior UDF leader.
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