Congress pulls the plug on independent alliance in Pala, throws UDF into crisis

Summary

Subscribed with another email? A meeting of the Congress mandalam committee, convened by its president Thomas Nechikkattu here on Sunday, adopted a resolution backing the move to sever ties with the independent collective. “The meeting, in which all six Congress councillors in Pala as well as local-level party leaders took part, unanimously decided not to associate with the independent collective. The decision will be communicated to the Congress leadership at the block, district and State levels, besides the Chief Minister. Nechikkattu attributed the decision to the collective sentiment among Congress workers to safeguard the party’s self-respect. At the same time, he dismissed speculation that the Congress could explore a tie-up with the Kerala Congress (M), a constituent of the Left Democratic Front (LDF). The Congress parliamentary party had earlier resolved to oppose the request and urged Chairperson Diya Binu to defer consideration of the application. In its resolution, the Congress mandalam committee alleged that members of the independent collective had deliberately stayed away from the council meeting at which the issue was discussed, acting in accordance with the interests of the CPI(M) leadership. “The Congress views these actions as a political betrayal,” the resolution said. Meanwhile, the independent collective appeared unfazed by the Congress move and maintained that it had already begun consultations with the UDF leadership. The UDF enjoys only a wafer-thin majority in the 26-member municipal council with 10 councillors comprising six from the Congress, three from the Kerala Congress, and one from the Kerala Democratic Party (KDP). It has managed to retain control of the municipality only with the support of the three-member independent collective and a Congress rebel.