The vigilance judge, John Illikkadan, administered a stinging judicial slap on the face of the Oommen Chandy Government, while pronouncing his order on a petition seeking rejection of the vigilance report giving a clean chit to Mani.

Adding insult to injury is the judge’s order that investigating officer SP Sukesan, who had probed the case and found evidence against the Finance Minister, will head the reinvestigation.

It may be mentioned that Vigilance Director Vinson M Paul had allegedly altered the Sukesan report and rejected it saying that there was no evidence against Mani in the case! It was against this order that Leader of the Opposition V S Achuthanandan and others had moved the court.

Shell-shocked Congress and other leaders of the UDF are too stunned to react to the judgment. So much so that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy refused to give his reaction to newspersons who approached him immediately after the verdict came out. Other UDF leaders have also failed to react to the political bomb which has exploded right in their face.

Their sense of panic is understandable as the judgment has come just two days before the local bodies elections, to be held on November 2 and 5. Needless to say, the adverse verdict will have a big impact on the outcome of the elections. And the UDF, which has been claiming a distinct edge over the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), will lose that advantage. That is for sure.

The only thing that remains to be seen is who will benefit more from the verdict: the LDF or the BJP. BJP leaders think that their party will be the bigger beneficiary as they are already on a strong wicket with the party’s understanding with the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) for the local bodies elections.

The CPI(M) and the CPI however, reject the BJP’s contention. The LDF leaders believe, rightly so, that the court order has come as a shot in the arm for the LDF and will give a big boost to the front’s prospects, already good, in the electoral battle, billed as the semi-final, the final being the crucial assembly polls just 6 months away.

The verdict has sent the UDF camp into a tizzy. It has certainly cast a dark shadow over the very future of the Chandy Government.

An immediate upshot could be the demand for the resignation of K M Mani in the wake of the verdict. It will be difficult for the KC(M) and other UDF parties to defend Mani now that he has become the main accused in the case.

Of course, Mani has the option to move the High Court against the judgment. But he will be under terrible pressure to step down pending the verdict. For all practical purposes, the judgment has come as a big embarrassment for the KC(M) and the UDF. The feeling that Mani will be a bigger liability post judgment is bound to get more pronounced; and more leaders are likely to join the chorus for the FM’s resignation.

All said and done, Kerala politics has hotted up in the wake of the judgment which has come as a powerful weapon for both the LDF and the BJP. What remains to be seen is how the ‘political Chanakya’ that he is Oommen Chandy will weather the political storm unleashed by the vigilance court judge’s judgment. (IPA Service)