Kottayam: The factional feud in the Kerala Congress (M) is turning murkier day by day even as the campaign for the Pala assembly bypoll is in full swing.
Leaders of the faction led by veteran leader and KC(M) working chairman P J Joseph on Saturday said that they would not campaign alongside the rival faction headed by Jose K Mani.
Joseph decided to stay away from the campaigning with the other faction as a mark of his protest against the humiliation he had to face during an election rally recently.
Supporters of the Jose K Mani faction had booed when Joseph started to speak at a poll rally in Pala recently.
The Joseph faction said it would convene separate meetings for seeking votes for UDF candidate Tom Jose Pulikkunnel. Pulikkunnel is the nominee of the Jose K Mani group.
"It doesn't mean that we will work to defeat Tom Jose. We will work to ensure his victory. We don't want to campaign with the people who humiliated us in public," Joseph faction leader Saji Manjakadamban said at a press meet in Pala on Saturday.
Joseph's stance is that the UDF leadership should find a solution to the impasse.
Roshy Augustine, MLA, who belongs to the Jose K Mani faction, said it is not clear if Joseph's stance is his political decision. He said the KC(M) has no fear about the poll outcome.
After the demise of KC(M) founder K M Mani, the party, a key partner in the Congress-led UDF, has been divided over the leadership issue.
While one faction is headed by Jose K Mani, son of K M Mani, the other group is led by former minister P J Joseph.
The Joseph faction had fielded Joseph Kandathil as a candidate days after the UDF announced the candidature of Jose Tom Pulikkunnel for the September 23 by-election.
The Jose K Mani faction alleged the move by Kandathil was with the blessings of P J Joseph and complained to the UDF leadership. However, the Joseph faction rejected the charges, saying the veteran leader did not have any role in it, and Kandathil withdrew his candidature a day later.
The by-election was necessitated by Mani's death in April. He had represented the constituency since 1967.