Worsening of faction feud in the Congress in Kerala has come in the way of the United Democratic Front (UDF) offering a united response to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) already way ahead in campaign trail for the May 10 Assembly polls. The unresolved crisis in the Congress culminating in the resignation of party veteran K Karunakaran as permanent invitee to the CWC coming at a time when the coalition was planning to release its manifesto and launch a coordinated statewide campaign in its bid to make up the time it has lost to its rival has embarrassed the front partners.
Though the ticket-winners from the Congress and other partners are already in their constituencies doing the initial rounds, the coalition as a whole has not been able to present the image of a cohesive combination capable of matching the well-tuned campaign machinery of the CPI-M and its allies. " No doubt, the Congress developments have created some confusion but hope is still not lost. The front constituents expect that the Congress squabbles will subside before filing of nominations begins,” M V Raghavan, leader of Communist Marxist Party (CMP), a UDF partner said.

Karunakaran himself had made it clear that whatever grievances he had over the Congress ticket distribution his group would not do anything to help the LDF, Raghavan said. In sharp contrast to the situation in UDF, its rival LDF has been able to conclude candidate selection, release poll manifesto and surge ahead with the campaign in full steam. Besides having the "early bird" advantage in campaign trail, the LDF is certain to exploit the internecine war in the Congress to its benefits throughout the run-up.
No sooner had Karunakaran come out openly against the party central leadership and his detractors in the state party unit than LDF leaders including Chief Minister E K Nayanar in their election meetings begun to harp on the fratricidal war in the rival camp. Also, the UDF partners are worried about the possibility of some of the Karunakaran supporters entering the fray as rebels. Already, in some of the seats Karunakaran loyalist have come out with their willingness to enter the fray against the official party candidates belonging to the non- Karunakaran factions. Though the Congress high command is planning to depute a party functionary to explore damage control possibilities, the Karunakaran camp still appeared in a defiant mood with some of his supporters taking to the street on Sunday night and burning effigy of AICC general secretary Ghulab Nabi Azad to express their anger over alleged raw deal meted out to the faction by the central leadership. Bureau Report