CPI-M casts eye on Jose K. Mani, seeks party’s political stand

Thiruvananthapuram, July 3 (IANS) The CPI-M, which heads Kerala’s ruling LDF combine, on Friday asked Jose K. Mani, who heads a faction of the Kerala Congress-Mani, to spell out his party’s political stand.

After the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) decided to keep out Jose K. Mani’s faction out of the UDF meetings for defying its directive to vacate the President’s post in the Kottayam district panchayat, the Left Democratic Front has its eye on the group.

The Kerala Congress- Mani comprises of two factions — one presently led by Jose K. Mani and the other led by veteran legislator P.J. Joseph and practically for all purposes, they have been functioning as two different entities for the past one year.

CPI-M state Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and LDF convenor A. Vijayaraghavan said that its is the Jose K. Mani faction which has roots and strength in the state.

Addressing the media on Friday soon after the CPI-M state secretariat meeting, Balakrishnan said the UDF is in shambles because of internal strife.

“Not long ago the LJD (party led by late M.P.Veerendra Kumar) was an ally of the UDF and now they are with us. Jose K. Mani is yet to spell out his political stand and once when he does that, we will take a call…. till this moment, he has not said anything, when he does, we will look into it,” he said .

However after Jose K. Mani’s exclusion from UDF, CPI state Secretary Kanam Rajendran, to repeated questions on whetherthe Jose K. Mani faction would be accommodated in the LDF, shot it down, saying that they don’t require his help.

Balakrishnan, asked about Rajendran’s views, said that every party is free to have their view.

“In the LDF, we take decisions after discussing things and at the moment, Jose K. Mani has not shown or expressed any intent and hence at the moment, there is nothing on it,” he said.

Balakrishnan also contended that he doubts if Jose K. Mani whose faction has one Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha member each, would commit the same mistake which P.C. Thomas did when he joined the then NDA government (1999-2004) to become a Union Minister but ruined his political future.

The signals from the CPI-M is loud and clear that as and when Jose K. Mani spells out his political stand, his faction will be the 11th constituent of the LDF.

“Already in the LDF we have three factions of the erstwhile Kerala Congress and we are an outfit, which will always take our allies together,” added Balakrishnan.

–IANS

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