Party leaders cutting across generations have been following this script with sickening regularity over the decades. The latest manifestation of this phenomenon followed the announcement of the schedule for the five Assembly by-elections from the State.

The by-elections have been necessitated by the victory of MLAs who fought – and won – the Lok Sabha elections from the State. The constituencies which are going to the polls are Ernakulam, Vattiyurkavu, Aroor, Konni and Manjeswaram.

True to pattern, groupism has reared its ugly head in the Congress. the knives are out in these five constituencies. The pretence of unity among the Congress leaders has been dropped. The show of bonhomie has turned into a posture of unrelenting hostility between the groups plaguing the party. An unfortunate corollary of this has been that the interests of the Congress have been hit for a six. The premium is on the need to protect the group interests.

Let us begin with the Ernakulam Assembly seat, a traditional stronghold of the Congress. Here, the front-runner is TG Vinod, a protégé of Hibi Eden, MP from Ernakulam whose victory in the LS polls caused the by-election. But, senior party leader and former union minister, Prof. KV Thomas has also staked his claim for the seat. Thomas, who lost the race for the Ernakulam Lok Sabha seat ticket to Eden, is actively pleading his case before the party High Command. In fact, Thomas master, as he is popularly known in the constituency, had a meeting with party president Sonia Gandhi and other top leaders in the national capital the other day. Master is hoping to get a top post in the state party if he loses the fight for a ticket a second time. On his part, Eden is in no mood to let down Vinod. The outcome will be known in the next few days. Incidentally, Eden belongs to the I group led by leader of the opposition, Ramesh Chennithala. Thomas originally belonged to the A group led by former chief minister Oommen Chandy. But he remains groupless these days.

The scene in the Vattiyurkavu seat is similar. Here also, the dominant groups are out to get the ticket for their respective loyalists. The victory of Vattiyurkavu MLA, K. Muralidharan in the LS election from Vadakara has caused the by-0election. Murali is keen on getting ticket for his loyalist N Peethambara Kurup. However, Kurup has run into opposition from the local Congress leaders who say Kurup is not a winning can didate. The seat should be given to a candidate who can win from Vattiyurkavu where the BJP candidate is likely to be BJP heavyweight, Kummanam Rajashekharan. If the state party leadership insists on the candidature of Kurup, then the Congress runs the risk of losing the seat to either the BJP or the CPI(M) whose candidate will, most probably, be the immensely popular Thirivananthapuram Mayor, VK Prashanth.

Konni also is witnessing an ugly spat between the I- and the A- groups. Adoor Prakash, who represents Konni assembly seat, has since become an MP having won the Lok Sabha poll from Attingal. Prakash, who has considerable influence in Konni, wants his loyalist Robin Peter to be given the ticket. But Pathanamthitta District Congress Committee(DCC) chief Babu George is opposed to Peter. The tussle is likely to delay the finalisation of the Congress candidate for the Konni seat, again a traditional Congress stronghold.

Aroor assembly seat is also facing a tussle between the A and the I groups. Initial reports said Shanimol Usman would be the Congress nominee from Aroor. However, her chances seem to have receded of late, thanks to opposition from the A group. Shanimol had lost the Lok Sabha election from Alappuzha narrowly to CPI(M) candidate, AM Arif, whose election to the Lok Sabha has necessitated the by-election from Aroor. The seat has by and large favoured the CPI(M) in the past. So, the Congress will have to field a strong candidate from Aroor, A group leaders Argue. The A group is also keen on exchanging Aroor for Vattiyurkavu. But the I group, who controls Vattiyurkavu is not inclined to agree.

There is a tussle for the Manjeswaram assembly seat as well. Interestingly, here, the fight is between the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leaders themselves. Manjeswaram is represented by the IUML in the Assembly. The League leadership has chosen MC Kamaruddin, Kasaragod district president of the IUML, fore the constituency. But local leaders have said No. This has escalated tension within the party. Whether the local leaders will undermine the campaign of Kamaruddin remains to be seen. The seat will witness a tough fight as the BJP is quite strong. In fact, in the last assembly election, BJP’s K. Surendran lost the seat by a mere 89 votes. The CPI(M) came a poor third here.

Given the open fight between the two dominant groups, it has become clear that choosing the candidates will not be an easy task for the State Congress leadership. The list will be forwarded to the High Command, which will take the final decision in the next few days. Whatever the denouement, the open display of factional feud has demoralised the Congress rank and file. The LDF and the BJP camps are, needless to say, happy about the Congress infighting.

The by-elections are scheduled to be held on October 24.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has also begun the search for candidates for the five seats. Reports have it that the CPI(M) has decided to contest all the five seats. The arithmetic, however, does not favour the CPI(M). The party has chances of winning only the Aroor seat. In Vattiyurkavu and Manjeswaram, the CPI(M) came a poor third in the last assembly elections. The CPI(M) candidates are likely to be decided in the next few days.
(IPA Service)