Kochi: It is the end of the road for splinter parties that once propped up coalitions in Kerala. The United Democratic Front and Left Democratic Front have mastered the art of using and disposing of splinters that had thrived on the clout of a few individuals.
Even Ms K R Gowri’s Jandhipathya Samrakshana Samithi is out in the cold. CPM has not been able to find a slot for the revolution’s child. Ms Gowri is now desperate and hints at some understanding with BJP. There may not be much to learn in this, except a desperate politician’s bid to clutch at anything that floats.
Kerala Congress founder R Balakrishna Pillai has been left to fend for himself but CPM has let his son, K B Ganesh Kumar, try his luck in Pathanapuaram.
Maverick Kerala Congress leader P C George is friendless in Poonjar.
CMP has mutated into irrelevance but Congress has offered C P John a berth in Kunnamkulam. CMP founder M V Raghavan’s son M V Nikesh Kumar is in a none-too-edifying role in Azheekode, courtesy CPM.
In engineering the free fall of the splinters, both Congress and CPM had played their parts. Kerala Congress, an emotive offshoot of protest against the parent party by leaders from erstwhile central Travancore, fell to the designs of the wily K Karunakaran, who split it up by playing one leader on the other.
Everyday of his ministry used to throw up a crisis in the form of a splinter threatening to withdraw support. He would enjoy the crisis, even turn it to his advantage. But he was done in by the Kerala Congress leader, Lonappan Nambadan . On 15 March 1982, Nambadan voted against the Karunakaran-led UDF government, which was surviving on the casting vote of Speaker A. C. Jose. Later, CPM took him under its wings, making him a Minister twice and finally gifting a Lok Sabha seat.
Of late, CPM tried to expand the LDF mass base by roping in Janata dal (U). After weeks of weeks of vacillation, JD (U) decided to stick with the UDF, reiterating the coalition dharma. CPM politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan’s attitude towards junior allies resulted in RSP pulling out on the eve of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The coalitional calculus is such that the allies are more or less settled. The LDF is content to strike out on its own, without poaching the rival front. Instead, it has accommodated influential individuals, mostly in Malabar, to broaden its base among Muslims.
On the UDF side, no tectonic shift is anticipated in the current lineup. There could be fresh permutations and combinations if the BJP emerges with more clout after the Assembly polls. The front which wins will gain more allies on a common plank against the saffron party.
