The Congress is also at war with itself over seat allocation with the dominant A and I groups led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala in no mood to play ball with KPCC president V M Sudheeran on a seat-allocation formula.

Both Chandy and Chennithala are wary of Sudheeran’s suggestion that MLAs who have completed more than three or four terms should step down and make way for candidates with unsullied images. They suspect, and not without basis, that the KPCC president’s aim is to clip their wings and strengthen his own position within the party. They think though Sudheeran is averse to group politics, which has been the bane of Congress in the State, he is trying to upset the existing factional equations by ensuring more tickets to leaders who belong to neither the A nor the I groups.

As part of the strategy, the KPCC chief has singled out a few leaders who are MLAs at present. He is clearly against giving them another term. His reasoning: their image is anything but clean. Among his ‘hit list’ are MLAs like Benny Behnan, Thampanur Ravi, KC Joseph, K. Babu, P C Vishnunath, all staunch supporters of Oommen Chandy, and Adoor Prakash belonging to the I group and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, a former Chandy loyalist who is now out on a limb.

Sudheeran, in a deft move, has decided to take the list to the Congress High Command, which will have the final say on the list at a meeting to be held soon. It is an open secret that Sudheeran’s efforts to reduce, if not eliminate the influence of Chandy and Chennithala, have the tacit support of the High Command. It may be remembered that Sudheeran became the KPCC president in the teeth of stiff opposition from both Chandy and Chennithala. And ever since he took over the KPCC president’s post, an unrelenting cold war has been waging among the trio: Sudheeran, Chandy and Chennithala for supremacy in the party organization.

As for the High Command, it is another golden opportunity to rid the Congress list of candidates with sullied image and against whom corruption charges are there. But the million dollar question is: will it summon the courage to take on Chandy and Chennithala head on and give tickets to candidates with clean images, antagonizing the duo in the process? An answer to this question should be available by the week end.

If the Congress is at war with itself, its relations with the allies are at the lowest ebb. For instance, the Congress has refused to yield to the request of Kerala Congress(M) for three more seats as against the 15 it contested in 2011 assembly elections. The Congress has ruled out more seats on the plea that the KC(M) has actually become weaker with the exit of pro-PJ Joseph leaders like Francis George who have formed a party of their own, the Kerala Congress (Democratic). The talks have run into a deadlock with the KC(M) also refusing to blink.

Similarly, the Kerala Congress (Jacob) is also angry about the Congress’s unwillingness to allot the Angamaly seat for its chairman, Johnny Nellur. The KC(J) is hell bent upon contesting from Angamaly with the Congress’s permission and without it, if necessary.

Another ally, which is cut up with the Congress is the Revolutionary Socialist Party(RSP). The RSP has demanded six seats this time around. But the Congress would not give it more than five seats. Bilateral talks have as a result run into rough weather. The RSP is threatening to contest a few seats on its own if the Congress fails to shed its intransigence and arrogance.

Likewise, the Janata Dal(U) is resenting the Congress’s big brother attitude over seat allocation. The JD(U) wants at least seven seats. But the Congress is ready to give it only four or five seats. The Congress has also flatly refused to give it a few ‘winnable’ seats this time.

Even the redoubtable Indian Union Muslim League is unhappy about the Congress’s moves to sabotage the chances of a few IUML candidates. For instance, the Congress wanted IUML to give it the Thiruvampadi seat. The IUML said No. But the wily politician that he is, Oommen Chandy has, so goes the speculation, made things difficult for the IUML candidate by getting the Malayora Karshaka Samithi, an outfit which has the strong backing of a church group, to put up a candidate of its own. The CPI(M), which saw an opportunity to humble IUML, may end up backing the MKS candidate. And if this happens, the IUML candidate will be hard pressed to retain the seat. The IUML leaders are not at all happy about the Oommen Chandy move to settle scores with it.

Continuing bickerings have further damaged the UDF’s already tattered image and credibility. Already, Congress leaders like AK Antony have conceded that their prospects of retaining power are only 50:50. The LDF leaders claim that the Congress is already admitting the possibility of defeat in the crucial assembly elections. (IPA Service)