Notwithstanding a clarification by the UDF leadership that the Kerala Congress (M) faction led by Jose K. Mani faction had not been expelled from the coalition for the time being, a settlement on the issue is likely to be delayed further with the faction sticking to its stance.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Mr. Mani reiterated that his faction had never entered into any power-sharing agreements as claimed by the coalition . “The UDF has not made any amends on their earlier announcement, but only reiterated their stance by making a technical clarification regarding the exclusion. We have not committed any mistake and hence there is no room for any correction on our part,” Mr. Mani said.
Meanwhile, the UDF’s decision to keep the Mani group out of the coalition for the time-being has been followed by the departure of a few leaders from the party.
Besides Jose Mon Mundakkal, a district-level leader of the faction, former president of Kerala Youth Front (M) Prince Luckose too switched loyalty to the rival group.
Meanwhile, speculations are also rife about a few others from the Mani group, including a couple of councillors in the Pala municipality, joining the P.J. Joseph group very soon.
The Joseph group, on the other hand, has launched an all-out attempt to bring more leaders from the rival camp, especially at the local body level, to its fold.EOM/ hiran
