No doubt, the decision of KC(M) chairman, Karingozhakkal Mani Mani to leave the UDF and sit as a separate block in the State Assembly is a rude shock to the UDF, which is struggling hard to shake off the crippling effect of the electoral drubbing it had suffered in the assembly elections.

It was not a sudden decision on the part of K M Mani. The KC(M)-Congress cold war had been simmering over the last two years. Mani had been nursing a grievance against the Congress since an FIR was lodged against him in the infamous bar bribery scam which ultimately led to his resignation as finance minister from the erstwhile Oommen Chandy government. Mani believes, not without reason that top Congress leaders, including former home minister Ramesh Chennithala were behind the conspiracy against him. Mani also has accused the Congress of trying to undermine the chances of KC(M) candidates in the assembly elections. The party has suffered for far too long, and it is no longer possible to endure the humiliation, Mani and his loyalists felt. Hence the ‘painful’ decision to sever the 35-year-old connection with the UDF.

It has not been an easy decision for Mani to make though. The Joseph group is not exactly happy with it. That faction believes going it alone in the coalition politics of the state is fraught with danger of isolation and gradual irrelevance. But the faction simply does not have the strength to oppose Mani openly. That is the reason why it has gone along with the decision, albeit reluctantly and grudgingly.

Conversely, the options for Mani were also limited. He could not have joined hands with the BJP. Such a decision would have drawn vehement opposition from within and the church which backs the party. There was no way he could have had a tie-up with the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), which had ruled out any truck with him. Cooperation on issues affecting the people is ok, but there is no question of admitting the KC(M) into the LDF. That is the official stance of the CPI(M), which was articulated by CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan recently. That being the case, the only option was to walk out of the UDF and plough a lonely furrow.

Be that as it may, Mani also knows that going it alone is easier said than done. It will be a herculean task for him to keep the KC(M) in one piece out of power. The isolationist policy may do for the time being. But Mani will have to align the KC(M) with some front before Lok Sabha elections due in 2019. The party simply does not have the steam and stomach to fight the parliamentary polls alone. The painful question before Mani is: “Jayen to jayen kahan?”, to borrow from a poignant Talat Mahmood song.

Meanwhile, despite their public postures, the Congress knows that the exit of the KC(M) is a debilitating body blow for the UDF. And despite its assertions to the contrary, the fact is that Congress alone is responsible for the threat of disintegration looming large before the UDF. What compounds the Congress offence is its reluctance to indulge in any serious introspection and take corrective steps.

True, the party and its partners in the UDF have decided not to offend the KC(M) any more with harsh words and deeds. But, if the Congress is really serious about saving the unraveling UDF, it must change its style of functioning; it must shed the big brother attitude and arrogant ways and be more sensitive to the interests of coalition partners, irrespective of their size and strength.

What must cause utmost concern to the Congress is that more coalition partners are feeling restive and resentful against it. The Janata Dal(U), for instance, has openly blamed the Congress for the exit of the KC(M). The JD(U) knows where the shoe pinches. It had accused the Congress of scuttling the chances of party candidate MP Veerendra Kumar in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Palakkad. A committee set up by the Congress itself found that local Congress leaders were responsible for the humiliating defeat of Kumar. KPCC president V M Sudheeran and other top Congress leaders had promised action against the ‘guilty’. But till date the promise has remained on paper. No wonder, a section within the JD(U) thinks it is time for the party to leave the UDF a la the KC(M). And it won’t be a surprise if it happens. The JD(UJ) and the RSP, currently with the UDF, have an open invitation from the LDF to join it.

The Congress leaders claim that they have done nothing to force Mani to leave the UDF. But facts tell a different tale. In the assembly elections, the Congress did try to ensure the defeat of KC(M) candidates, including Mani, alleged KC(M) leaders. Mani survived thanks to the support of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam(SNDP), the organization of the powerful Ezhava community. But other KC(M) candidates were not so lucky. Some of them bit the electoral dust.

The Congress’s track record is replete with acts which either split its coalition partners or weakened them. The KR Gouri-led Janadhipathya Sangharsha Samithi (JSS), for instance, was split into two factions, one supporting the UDF and the other the LDF. Gouri herself was defeated in her constituency in the past thanks to the machinations of the Congress, according to the JSS chief herself. A similar fate overtook the MV Raghavan-headed Communist Marxist Party (CMP). The party split into two factions, one faction aligning itself with the UDF and the other opting to side with the LDF.

The only party which successfully resisted the Congress efforts to weaken it is the Indian Union Muslim League. The reason: it had the backing of numbers, and without the IUML’s support, the UDF could not have survived.

This being the ground reality, unless the Congress mends its dictatorial ways, there is no way the UDF can survive. If the Congress wants Mani back in the UDF – patch-up efforts are on – it will have to be more mindful of the sensibilities of that party. As a first step, the Congress will have to admit that there indeed was an attempt to discredit Mani, and that it sincerely regrets it. Will the Congress have the courage to do it? A little humility would do a world of good for the Congress. That way alone lies salvation for the UDF. (IPA Service)