A day after the Kerala Congress won the President seat in the Kottayam district panchayath with the support of the LDF on Wednesday, party leader K.M. Mani on Thursday once again cited the oft-repeated theory of equidistance from all fronts.
But 'Mani Sir'—as he prefers or rather insists to be called—also said it is no big crime to hold hands with the Left and said, “Even senior leaders like A.K. Antony has done it.''
He attributed the reason of joining hands with the LDF to the “bad manners'' of the Congress unit in Kottayam.
“The Congress is constantly slinging mud at the Kerala Congress. The local party was very upset. This development is just a result of that,'' said Mani while meeting the press.
When asked whether he supports this move, Mani said it was unfortunate. But when asked whether he will disown the local leaders who entered into the tie-up with the LDF, Mani said: “I can't disown them considering the local sentiments.
Interestingly, the latest developments happened amid the Bharatiya Janata Party trying desperately to woo Mani into the saffron fold. Mani could be indeed a big catch for the BJP which is determined to become a big political force in the state. Apart from the fact that the Christian character of the party will give the BJP a secular tint, it will also help in depriving the Congress its assured Christian votes. Mani has for long been hoping for his son Jose K. Mani to be made a minister.
Meanwhile, Mani’s move to lean towards the LDF has created fissures within the party. Senior leader P.J. Joseph has come forward opposing the alliance with the Left. Terming the tie up with the LDF “unfortunate”, Joseph said no discussions were held in the party forums regarding this. He further said that the decision taken at the Charalkunnu camp was to cooperate with the UDF in civic body institutions.
Monce Joseph MLA of Joseph Group responded that Mani had betrayed the Congress.
Later in the day, Kerala Congress district president E.M. Augusthy resigned from his post protesting against Mani’s alliance with the LDF.
Mani had left the UDF after it bit dust in the last assembly elections. Now, the six party legislators sit as an independent block.
Interestingly, the bar bribery case involving Mani was one of the major reasons for the pathetic performance of the UDF in the elections. The bribery allegations had really hurt Mani, who was packing his bags to join the LDF at that point of time. However, the LDF closed its doors on him and Mani had a tough time during the elections which he barely scraped through.
Mani's party had won six seats, out of the 15 they contested and had secured four per cent votes, making it the sixth largest party in terms of vote share in the state. Currently his party has one member each in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
