The party which he had formed had come under severe strain in his last days because of the spurt in factional feud. Now that the chairman has made his exit from the scene, the KC(M) will face a crisis of confidence as well as existence.

All eyes will now be on P. J. Joseph, Mani’s long-time associate, who had made no secret of his disagreement with the KC(M) chief. Joseph was deeply hurt over the denial of party ticket to contest from the Kottayam Lok Sabha seat.

The tension that ensued Mani’s refusal to allot Joseph to contest from Kottayam had pushed the KC(M) to the brink of a split. The parting of ways was averted only by the intervention of Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leaders.

Joseph was also not happy with the haste with which Mani had ensured the promotion of his son, Jose K Mani, to the top post, ignoring the claims of not only Joseph but many other senior leaders of the KC(M). Joseph also suspected the hand of Jose behind the refusal of ticket to him.

The question uppermost in the minds of KC(M) leaders and party activists is: what will Joseph do in the post-Mani political setting? Will he stay in the party accepting the leadership of Jose? Or will he walk out and remain as a separate section within the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF)?

The other important question is whether the son has the father’s uncanny knack for playing the politics of accommodation? Mani had excellent relations with the leaders of the party’s allies in the UDF despite the political differences. The son has to grow into the father’s shoes if he has to ensure the survival of the KC(M) as a force to reckon with in central Kerala.

It remains to be seen whether the death of Mani will see the initiation of the process of reunification of various Kerala Congress groups. If the KC has split into various groups, ironically, Mani himself was to blame. Many a senior leader had left the party owing to the differences with Mani and his machinations. Among those who left the KC(M) are TM Jacob, the founder of the splinter KC(J), PC Thomas who is contesting as the NDA candidate from Kottayam and KC(B) of R Balakrishnan Pillai who is now in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) camp.

Whatever the denouement, it will be a Herculean task for Jose K. Mani to ensure the survival and relevance of the KC(M) in Kerala politics, especially in Central Kerala.

This being the ground reality, the exit of Mani has left a big void in Kerala politics. An immediate fallout of Mani’s death will be the closure of the infamous bar bribery case, the only blot in an otherwise illustrious career, involving him.

With his exit, Kerala has lost a crafty politician, a brilliant parliamentarian and an able administrator. The political stalwart has many firsts to his credit. He remained an MLA for 54 years; he was also elected from a single constituency – Pala – 13 times; Mani was finance minister, who presented 13 budgets. The only prize which eluded him was the coveted post of chief minister. He came tantalizingly close to becoming the CM. But the then Governor Jyothi Venkatachalam dissolved the Assembly preventing Mani from realising his life-long ambition.

The spotlight will now be on the post-Mani scenario. Can Jose rise up to the challenge and keep the KC(M) as a united and cohesive unit, which can continue to call the shots in central Kerala? Its survival is equally important for the Congress as well. Because the KC(M) is one of the two long-lasting allies of the party in the UDF. The answer to that question lies in the womb of the future. (IPA Service)