Kanam continues to trivialise Mani group, reminds Kodiyeri of the other side of 1965 history

The CPI is in no mood to yield to what looks like the CPM's keenness to have the Jose K Mani faction of Kerala Congress (Mani) in the LDF fold.

The CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran on Sunday painted the Jose K Mani faction as opportunist, dared the faction to surrender the political prizes it had won from the UDF, and also gave the CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishan a small lesson in history.

Kanam had earlier sneered at Kodiyeri's statement that the Jose K Mani faction had mass base saying it was evident when their candidate (Jose Tom Pulikkunnel) lost the Pala by-elections in 2019. Then, referring specifically to the Mani faction, Kanam had said no party would be a force to reckon with if it fought alone.

Kodiyeri pounced on this as though it was a personal affront. He went all the way back to 1965 to deliver his coalition partner a mighty snub. "There are lessons to be learnt from past experiences. It was in 1965 that parties last contested on their own. The number of seats each party won back then is part of history. His (Kanam's) statement that no party will be a force if it fights alone is correct," Kodiyeri said, sarcastically.

Nothing could be more politically embarrassing for the CPI than the mention of the 1965 assembly polls. It was the year after the original CPI split and both the communist parties went alone.

The election results were so vague that no party or formation could form a government, necessitating another election in 1967. But the new party, CPI(M), won 40 seats, making it the single largest party.

The CPI drew a virtual blank. It won just three seats, down from the 79 it had held when it was undivided.

On Sunday, Kanam hit back, and smacked the CPM leader where it would hurt the most. "Who said the CPM had fought the 1965 elections alone," he said. "It will be good if Kodiyeri could read the 1965 history once again. The CPM fought by tying up with other parties, including the Muslim League. It will be pointless to claim they fought the polls alone," Kanam said.

Any association with the League, which the CPM has consistently branded communal, would be hugely embarrassing for the CPM. During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, too, Kodiyeri had termed the Muslim League communal after Rahul Gandhi was announced as candidate in Wayanad.

Kanam continued to be dismissive of the Jose K Mani faction. "Has Jose K Mani left the UDF," he asked. "This party is negotiating with all the three fronts," the CPI leader said.

He said the LDF was all set to achieve a second term and the LDF should not do anything that would weaken such a favourable political climate.

Kanam also wanted the Mani faction to adhere to certain political ethics. "When Veerendra Kumar's party (Lokatantric Janata Party came to the LDF, they had renounced all the posts they had secured with the help of the UDF, including the Rajya Sabha seat. Jose K Mani faction leaders are now functioning as MPs of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance. Let them also surrender these posts and then we will think of it," Kanam said.