Congress allies to demand extra seats

By Express News Service
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Putting behind the row on seat sharing and poor candidature within the native physique elections, the Congress formally began bilateral talks with foremost ally Muslim League on Wednesday. While the League has demanded six extra seats, Congress has relented on two, that too solely a consensus candidate in a single. On Thursday, Congress leaders will maintain discussions with P J Joseph faction of Kerala Congress (M) and RSP individually. A remaining resolution on seat sharing shall be taken solely after Opposition chief Ramesh Chennithala’s ‘Aishwarya Kerala Yatra’ ends on February 22.

At the final UDF assembly, Chennithala had maintained that the bilateral stage talks this time shall be held away from the prying eyes of the media. But on Wednesday, after he together with chairman of the newly constituted election administration and technique committee Oommen Chandy and KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran met Muslim League president Panakkad Hyderali Shihab Thangal in Malappuram, the leaders themselves informed reporters that the ally has demanded six extra seats, aside from the 24 seats they’d contested in 2016. League nationwide common secretary P Okay Kunhalikutty, MP, state common secretary Okay P A Majeed and Youth League state president Panakkad Munavarali Shihab Thangal additionally attended the assembly.

It is learnt that the Congress leaders expressed their apprehensions about parting with six extra seats and the ramifications it’d trigger within the central and southern districts. It ought to be recalled that the Congress’ conventional vote financial institution of Christian communities had expressed their apprehension of the League hijacking the UDF. At the identical time, Munavarali Shihab Thangal has been urging the get together management to allot seats to lady candidates this time.

All UDF constituents are demanding extra seats because the Janata Dal (United), which is now Loktantrik Janata Dal, has joined the Left camp. In 2016, they’d contested in seven seats. The undivided KC(M) had contested in 15 seats which embrace 4 seats from the Joseph faction. Now the faction is agency that it needs all 15 seats although the Jose Okay Mani faction has switched to LDF.

“Former K M Mani loyalists like the late C F Thomas, MLA, former Rajya Sabha MP Joy Abraham, former chief whip Thomas Unniyadan and former Tiruvalla MLA Victor T Thomas are currently in our camp. We have already asked the Congress leadership to maintain the status quo,” Mons Joseph, MLA, informed TNIE.On the Pala seat, the Joseph faction is awaiting the following transfer of sitting MLA Mani C Kappan of NCP, who stayed away from the LDF assembly on Wednesday. 

The UDF camp is hopeful of seeing Kappan leaving the LDF and becoming a member of them ultimately. Currently, the emphasis of UDF allies is on deciding the variety of seats every of them will get. The constituencies shall be determined later. “Last time, RSP contested in five seats. This time, we would obviously demand more. Which all are those seats will be discussed within the front,” RSP chief N Okay Premachandran, MP, informed TNIE.

The different ally, Kerala Congress (Jacob), is more likely to demand 4 seats, although Anoop Jacob was the only real contestant from his get together final time. Similarly, CMP can be anticipated to demand three seats. Its common secretary C P John, who had contested from Kunnamkulam, was the lone contestant. The smaller allies, Forward Bloc and Janata Dal (S) chief John John who didn’t go along with M P Veerendrakumar to the LDF, are additionally anticipated to get one seat every.