The prospect of an Assembly election in Pala in the absence of Kerala Congress (M) leader K.M. Mani is triggering factional ripples in not just the traditional favourite but also within its closest rival.
The raging factional feud within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Kottayam unit has assumed new dimension with rebel leaders now agreeing to form a splinter group and field its own candidate in the upcoming byelection.
The rebel faction, led by those facing disciplinary action for clashing with each other at a party leadership meeting held here recently, is awaiting the General Election results to decide on their future course of action.
‘‘The action initiated against a section of leaders is totally unwarranted and if it is not withdrawn in two weeks, we will come up with an NCP splinter group. The new faction, which is most likely to be named after the late Uzhavoor Vijayan, will contest from Pala in case of the party awarding candidature to Mani C. Kappen once again,’’ said Francis Jacob, NCP district general secretary and a rebel leader.
The other day, the NCP State leadership suspended five leaders, including Mr. Jacob, from the party’s primary membership pending inquiry. The other leaders facing action were Samji Pazhyaparambil, State executive member; Sabu Abraham, Babu Kappakkala and Radhakrishnan Onampally.
Besides, an explanation has been sought from Subash Punchakottil, NCP State general secretary, in connection with the episode. The clash broke out over the recent ouster of NCP district president T.V. Baby from the post
Latest bout of troubles within the NCP began when a meeting of its Pala block committee nominated Mr. Kappen, who had unsuccessfully contested against Mr. Mani for three times on a trot, as the party’s candidate in the byelection.
The latest developments within the NCP has come at a time when speculations are rife about the CPI(M) taking away the seat from it, considering the bypolls as its best chance to breach the KC(M) bastion. The NCP, an ally of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), had been contesting from the seat since 2001.