Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Congress (M) is moving closer to the Left Front as the possibility of its split with the UDF increases. The party may give clear indications about its plans after the UDF takes a decision on its constituent.
The party steering committee had entrusted chairman Jose K Mani with the task of deciding on the future course of action. However, there are some questions that need to be answered if Kerala Congress (M) decides to side with the LDF.
Will the support be from outside?
In view of the strong opposition from the CPI, it is not certain if the LDF will rush to consider making the Kerala Congress (M) a constituent party. In that case, it may ask the party to support from outside.
The parties that recently joined the LDF, such as the INL, the Kerala Congress (B) and the Democratic Kerala Congress, had initially provided outside support.
The CPM and Jose K Mani have not started any official discussions on alliance. But, there have been informal talks in the districts ahead of the local body elections. These moves would speed up if the UDF decided on Tuesday to part ways with the Kerala Congress (M).
Will it vacate Rajya Sabha seat?
The UDF has demanded that if the Kerala Congress (M) leaves, it should relinquish the positions obtained by being a part of the Front.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala had asked if Jose K Mani would vacate the Rajya Sabha seat in case he quits the UDF. CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran had also raised the question publicly earlier.
There are indications that Jose K Mani would be ready to relinquish his Rajya Sabha seat to soften the stance of the CPI, which has made its opposition to an alliance with the Kerala Congress (M) clear and has often reiterated that it is not ready for any compromise with him.
Jose is likely to follow the example of MP Veerendra Kumar, who had resigned from the Rajya Sabha when he left the UDF to join the LDF.
What about Assembly seats?
The Kerala Congress (M) is interested in going with the LDF after clarifying its stance on Assembly seats.
The last time when it contested as a single party from the UDF, it had got 15 seats. Of these, the Joseph faction was given four seats and the Mani faction had contested in the remaining 11.
The two MLAs currently with the Jose faction, Roshy Augustine (Idukki) and N Jayaraj (Kanjirapally), will naturally have to be given LDF seats.
The party is likely to ask the LDF for the same 15 seats it contested from in 2016. However, the CPI has been representing the LDF in Jayaraj's sitting seat. Moreover, seven of the 15 seats in which the Kerala Congress (M) had contested have LDF MLAs.
