Janata merger will have positive impact in Kerala, says JD(U)

 

The state unit of the JD(U) is angry over the betrayal by the Congress during the recently concluded local body poll. The party's performance was one of the worst in these elections with their representation in urban and rural bodies coming down from 400 wards to less than 100.

 

The shockingly poor performance of the party is being attributed by many in the party to backstabbing by the Congress. Pressure is mounting from the rank and file to give a befitting reply to the Congress since the local leadership had conspired to defeat the JD(U) candidates in some of the districts.

 

Had the proposed merger of the Janata Parivar taken place on a non-BJP, non-Congress plank, it would have been easier for the Kerala unit to cross over to the LDF camp. Observers say the biggest impediment for the state unit to cross over to the LDF at the moment is the presence of the Congress in the grand alliance in Bihar.

 

But if after the merger of the Janata Parivar, the central leadership of the party decides to allow state units to take independent stand on political alignment depending on the concrete situation in their respective states, things could change on the ground, they added.

 

Historically, socialists in Kerala have been more comfortable in the company of the Left parties rather than the Congress because of their five-decade-long relationship. Socialist leader P. Vishwambaran was the first LDF convenor in 1973 and M. P. Veerendrakumar headed the front in the late 1980s.

 

With the LDF having already stated that its doors are wide open and the resentment against betrayal by the Congress in the local body poll growing among cadres, the options before the JD(U) are open.