Thaindian News

Thiruvananthapuram, May 1 (IANS) Kerala’s ruling United Democratic Front Tuesday denied any problem in its ranks, and termed Communist Party of India-Marxist’s willingness to welcome back parties which quit the Left Democratic Front (LDF) as “wishful thinking”.

State Congress president Ramesh Chennithala told reporters here that this is nothing but a dream of CPI-M leader Pinarayi Vijayan.

“The UDF is firmly in place and the welcoming back of those parties which left the LDF in the recent past by Vijayan is nothing but wishful thinking. Things are fine in the UDF,” said Chennithala.

State Water Resources Minister P.J.Joseph, who headed the Kerala Congress-Joseph which left the LDF and merged with UDF constituent Kerala Congress-Mani, also denied any move on his part to abandon the UDF.

He reiterated that they are firmly in the UDF and they have no problems at all.

In a TV interview Monday, Vijayan said that the CPI-M will have no problem if the factions of the Kerala Congress-Joseph and erstwhile Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) which broke away from their main parties, in the LDF, and joined the UDF in the past two years, return.

Vijayan’s invitation was essentially meant for the factions of the Kerala Congress-Joseph which merged their party to the Kerala Congress-Mani in 2010.

Meanwhile, it was in 2009 that the JD-S led by former Lok Sabha member and media baron M.P. Veerendra Kumar split and he took his faction to the UDF.

The party currently has two legislators, while the Kerala Congress-Mani has nine legislators, including three from the erstwhile Kerala Congress-Joseph.

However other LDF constituents had mixed reactions to Vijayan’s proposal.

“Some time back when our leadership made a statement that those who left us should return, it was not welcome, but now we are extremely happy that the CPI M and Vijayan has made this statement and we wish this becomes a reality,” said CPI state secretary Paniyan Ravindran.

Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) national general secretary T.J. Chandrachoodan however said that while Veerendra Kumar is welcome, Joseph is not acceptable.

Political analysts termed Vijayan’s statement as nothing but a ploy to unsettle the UDF at a time when a crucial by-election to the Neyattinkara constituency is scheduled for June 2.

This will be a major contest because the Congress is fielding R.Selvaraj, a two time former CPI-M legislator who quit in March and joined the ruling party.