Kerala Congress-Mani divided over entry to front; Party to abstain from RS voting

Kottayam: Kerala Congress (M) has decided to abstain from voting in the imminent Rajya Sabha election from Kerala assembly. The party steering committee which met in Kottayam on Sunday, took the decision in view of the fact that it has not been able to decide about which front to ally itself with.

However, since the party is deeply divided over the issue of alliance with any front of the state, the decision regarding the bypoll in Chengannur constituency has also been deferred. It is reported that the stance of PJ Joseph-led faction against having ties with LDF, got the upper hand in the high power committee and the following steering committee meetings .

Party leader KM Mani met the mediapersons after the meeting and informed them that the RS vote abstention was decide because the decision regarding alliance has been put off. But he also added that the decision regarding alliance will be decided before the Chengannur by-election, and that the decision about the bypoll will be taken once the election notification is released.

He criticized the central and state governments on their policy of ignoring the agricultural sector, and maintained that Kerala Congress could not support the state government's liquor policy.

The key fact to note amidst all this is that during the steering committee meeting, the two views of going with LDF and returning to UDF clashed against each other, with those who support Mani tending to be pro-LDF and the pro-Joseph group leaning to a return to UDF. A section of leaders wanted to set clear the party position without further delay.