Thiruvananthapuram--Kerala Congress (B), a minor partner of the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala, on Wednesday quit from the ruling front and announced that its lone legislator would vote for the CPI (M)-led Opposition candidate in the election to the post of Speaker.
The election, slated for Thursday, became necessary following the death of the incumbent Speaker G Karthikeyan.
“KC (B) legislator K B Ganesh Kumar would vote for CPI (M)’s candidate Aysha Potti in the speaker’s election. This is the happiest day in my political life. I would join the LDF in its agitations against Congress government,” said party chairman R Balakrishna Pillai, who had a strained relation with the Congress in the recent months.
Soon after Pillai made his decision clear, UDF convener P P Thankachan said KC (B) is no more part of the UDF. What awaits Pillai’s ouster from the UDF is only a formal announcement.
KC (B)’s exit from UDF would bring down the strength of the ruling front from 74 (after the death of Karthikeyan) to 73 in the 140-strong assembly.
Pillai had been one of the founders of the Congress-led UDF coalition three decades ago. Relations between KC (B) and UDF were under strain for last several months. After Pillai supported the bribery charges against Finance Minister K M Mani, the UDF had asked the veteran leader not to trouble the ruling front anymore. But, he resigned as the chairman of Kerala State Welfare Corporation for Forward Communities, a post of Cabinet rank given to the upper class Hindu Nair leader after his son Kumar quit as a minister two years ago in the wake of a domestic violence case. Kumar had rattled the UDF in the last assembly session, by raising corruption charges against offices of the ministers of Indian Union Muslim League.
An outgoing Pillai raised serious allegations against the UDF leadership. “Only those who indulge in corruption can find a place in the UDF, where caste and communal considerations influence critical decisions. He said the coalition was reluctant to take action against chief whip P C George, who had challenged the government on many occasions, mainly on caste considerations. I started my political life as a communist worker,” said Pillai, indicating that his party was ready to move to LDF.
In the LDF, Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan has been a known bête noir of Pillai. VS had diligently fought a corruption case against Pillai and subsequently, he was jailed for a few months in 2011.
But, VS had made clear that LDF was not averse to warming up towards Pillai as he was sidelined in the UDF on charges of exposing the corruption in the ruling front.
The Indian Express
