Left’s own front in stress

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dissension is hardly a new dimension in politics anywhere, but the extent of diverse pulls that is unraveling in the Left Democratic Front in Kerala is hard to beat. While individual parties within the coalition are witnessing divisive trends, there are also inter-party squabbles that are mostly to do with the way CPM shared seats among the coalition members.

The leader of the coalition, CPM, is faced with faction feud, the Janata Dal (Secular) is considered to be on the verge of a split, and another ally Kerala Congress (J) is finding it difficult to fathom what its leader P C Thomas is up to.

Comparatively, two other coalition partners CPI and RSP seem to be experiencing better cohesion in their ranks, but whether that calmness is a lull before the parties vent their anger at CPM is difficult to predict. Both CPI and RSP had been sidelined in the Left bloc seat allocation exercise , prompting both parties to publicly express displeasure at CPM���s attitude to coalition members.

The worst off at the moment is JD(S), which after being denied any seat, is now on the verge of witnessing a split. Its sole minister in the V S Achuthanadan cabinet, Mathew T Thomas, who put in his resignation after JD(S) was denied the Kozhikode seat, has now broken party guidelines regarding support to the CPM.

Mr Thomas and another MLA Jose Thettayil are seen to be moving away from official position of JD(S), and speculation is rife that a split is in the offing in JD(S), which has five MLAs. The Kerala Congress (J) faces a different problem, with its lone MP P C Thomas threatening to break away.

Mr Thomas won as an independent from Muvattupuzha in 2004, floated the Indian Federal Democratic Party , and later joined the Kerala Congress (J). With the Muvattupuzha constituency itself vanishing in the new demarcation of constituencies, and no seat to contest, Mr Thomas is seen to be biding his time for his next move.