A notable feature of the State election scene is that both the dominant fronts, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPI(M)-headed Left Democratic Front(LDF), are riven by internal schism and strife.

While the LDF has been stunned by the decision of the 32-year-old ally, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), to leave the front, the Kerala Congress (Mani) has rattled the UDF with a threat to quit the front over the Kasturirangan report’s implementation.

In a development that is threatening to unravel the LDF, the RSP has walked out of the front in protest against what it called the humiliating treatment meted out to the party in the matter of seat allocation. The RSP had demanded that the Kollam seat, to which the party has an emotional attachment, be allotted to it, but ‘big brother’ CPI(M) said No. More than the refusal to concede the demand, what angered the RSP was the manner in which the ‘arrogant’ CPI(M) handled the issue. After giving the impression of considering the demand, the CPI(M) unilaterally announced the name of party leader M. A. Baby for the Kollam seat even before the formal meeting of the LDF. That proved to be the last straw for the RSP, in which resentment had been simmering over the CPI(M)’s condescending attitude to it.

The party has not only left the LDF but also decided to join the rival UDF. The KPCC has given the green signal for the RSP’s entry into the UDF. And indications are that RSP leader N. K. Premachandran would contest from Kollam with the support of the UDF. The condition: Premachandran must support the UPA Government if it returns to power at the Centre and the UDF Government in the state. The RSP has, to the shock of a section of its own supporters and the LDF, agreed to the terms.

A measure of the RSP’s anger can be gauged from the fact that even appeals made by VS Achuthanandan to reconsider the move to quit the LDF were turned down. There is no denying the fact that it was the arrogance and supercilious attitude of the state CPI(M) leadership which has caused the exit of the RSP.

The CPI and even a section of the CPI(M) are also unhappy over the manner in which a long-standing ally like the RSP had to leave the front. The CPI made no secret of its displeasure at the LDF meeting. In fact, a concerned CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy has written to his CPI(M) counterpart, Prakash Karat to ensure that the RSP returns to the LDF.

Undoubtedly, the RSP’s departure would weaken the LDF in the Kollam region as the party has pickets of influence in the area. In the past also the RSP split had helped the UDF in Kollam and Chavara assembly constituencies.

While the RSP’s anger over the CPI(M)’s ‘insulting’ treatment is understandable, the haste with which it has crossed over to the UDF has raised eyebrows all round. The move has strengthened suspicions about a pre-planned script prepared by the Congress and the RSP – an allegation made by VS, Pinarayi and other CPI(M) leaders. The CPI(M) camp believes that the voters of Kerala are too intelligent to be fooled by the RSP’s ‘betrayal’ , and that the party would pay a heavy price in the Lok Sabha elections. Whatever the outcome, Kollam would witness a prestigious battle between Premachandran of the RSP and CPI(M) veteran M A Baby. The CPI(M) leaders say it would be extremely tough for Premachandran, a trenchant critic of the UDF and the UPA Government at the Centre uptill now, to explain the sudden political somersault.

It is not the RSP alone which has created problems for the LDF. The Janata Dal(S), another LDF constituent, is also threatening to contest at least four seats if the party is not given one seat to contest. The JD(S), which has denounced CPI(M) decision to dump the RSP, has said it was strong enough to win a LS seat. It remains to be seen whether the CPI(M) would concede the JD(S) demand or reject as it did in the case of the RSP.

If the LDF has been plagued by seat division problems, things are no different in the rival UDF. The allies are resentful of the Congress decision not to give them any additional seats. The Congress is in a mood to accommodate only the concerns of the Socialist Janata (Democratic) in seat allocation. The SJ(D) wants either Wayanad or Vadakara. The Congress has rejected it saying that both are the party’s sitting seats. The signs are that the SJ(D) may agree to contesting from Palakkad or Malappuram.

But it is the Kerala Congress(M) which is giving the Congress sleepless nights. The KC(M) is insisting on contesting from Idukki, a sitting seat of the Congress. The KC(M) contention is that the party has a better chance of winning the seat as the sitting Congress MP has become unpopular because of his stand on the Kasturirangan issue, a sensitive issue for the farmers who are traditional supporters of the KC(M). The KC(M) says the Congress can no longer say that its sitting seat cannot be given to an ally, as it has already agreed to give its sitting seat, Kollam to RSP, the latest entrant to the UDF. The KC(M) is also not happy with the latest draft Kasturirangan notification, which has come after the EC approved its release before the polls. The party and the Christian church groups supporting it want the total withdrawal of the notification on implementation of the Kasturirangan report, which they say is against the interests of the settler farmers in the hill regions of the state. How the Kasturi knot will be untied is being watched with keen interest. If a solution not satisfactory to the KC(M) and its supporters is not found, then the UDF could lose Idukki, Wayanad, Pathanamthitta and Kozhikkode seats.(IPA Service)