Jose K Mani's entry triggers resentment in Kerala's Left Front

Resentment is brewing among some of the coalition parties of the CPM-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala as Rajya Sabha MP Jose K Mani-led faction of the Kerala Congress (M) party is being accorded a red carpet welcome to the Front.

While the Nationalist Congress Party is concerned about losing the Pala Assembly seat in Kottayam district, Revolutionary Socialist Party (Leninist) is upset as the party is yet to be formally inducted into the Front despite its lone MLA backing the Left Front over the last five years.

The NCP has already reiterated that it would not make any compromise on the Pala seat even as Jose K Mani keeps on reiterating that his party is emotionally attached to the Pala seat as his father and Kerala Congress (M) leader K M Mani represented the constituency for five decades in a row till his death last year.

NCP state president T P Peethambaran Master and present Pala MLA Mani C Kappan said that so far there has been no suggestion from the Left Front for giving up the Pala seat. Jose K Mani, who held talks with Left Front senior leaders including CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Friday also maintained that there has been no talks on seats yet.

There were reports that CPM wooed the Jose K Mani faction by offering the Pala seat as it hopes to make inroads into Christian votes banks of south and central Kerala.

Meanwhile, RSP(L) demanded that the party should be formally made part of the Left Democratic Front. The lone MLA of the party, Kovoor Kunjumon, wrote to the CPM state secretary that being a party that is backing the LDF over the last five years, they should be also inducted soon.

Son-law too eyes Pala seat

K M Mani's son in law and former IAS officer M P Joseph has expressed his desire to contest for the Pala seat as a Congress candidate in the 2021 Assembly polls. Joseph flayed the decision of Jose K Mani to join the Left Front. "Kerala Congress (M) workers would not be able to work under the Left Front," he said.