Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader and state home minister Ramesh Chennithala on Monday played down the moves to form a third front in Kerala to be a contender against the ruling United Democratic Front.
Chennithala’s comment in Kozhikode was directed primarily at senior Kerala Congress (M) leader P.C. George, who is attempting to form a coalition of smaller parties to challenge the ruling front. George’s moves follow his sidelining from the party, and the decision to remove him from the post of government chief whip.
“There is no scope for a third front. No coalition member will leave the UDF,” Chennithala said, adding that George should first decide whether he was with or against the UDF.
George has been carrying on an all-out attack against his own party, the Kerala Congress (M) and the UDF ever since he fell out with his party boss and state finance minister, K.M. Mani.
George is caught in a vexed situation where he cannot leave the party on his own for fear of coming under the anti-defection law. Therefore, he is carrying out a battle against Mani from within the party. On his part, Mani has shrewdly refused to sack George from the party.
“The Left parties need not dream of getting UDF coalition members to their side. There are problems in the UDF but there are no issues that cannot be solved, and UDF will carry on as one unit”, Chennithala said.
George has had discussions with a number of community groups across the state and is hopeful about influencing their sentiments in the forthcoming by-election to the Aruvikkara assembly seat. The by-election was necessitated by the demise of former assembly speaker, G. Karthikeyan.
The by-election is expected to be a needle contest for the UDF and the Opposition Left Democratic Front, particularly because it is likely to be the last major test of strength between the two fronts before they face each other in the 2016 assembly polls.
