Even as the high-profile electoral campaigning in the Pala Assembly segment entered its final leg, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Wednesday suffered a major embarrassment with two members of the Kerala Congress (M) [KC(M)] and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] coming to blows during a meeting of the Pala municipal council.
The incident took place in the morning when Binu Pulikkakandam, the lone CPI(M) councillor in the municipality, entered into a fight with Baiju Kollamparambil of the KC(M) during a meeting of the standing committee on Health. Eyewitness accounts suggested that the clash broke out when Mr. Pulikkakandam raised the allegation of procedural violation in convening the standing committee.
“The KC(M) councillor picked up an argument with the CPI(M) councillor after the later objected to the convening of the meeting without informing him. The argument, which broke out in the presence of municipal chairman Anto Jose Padinjarekkara, eventually gave way to a physical assault. But a swift intervention by other councillors avoided a further flare up. Following the incident, both the persons sought medical treatment,” said a person who witnessed the incident.
A blot
Though the issue was settled after intervention from the leaderships of both the parties, the incident put a blot on the LDF’s efforts to put up a united show in the Assembly segment to ensure the victory of KC(M) chairman Jose K. Mani against United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate and sitting legislator Mani C. Kappan. In the recently held local body elections, the LDF had won the Pala municipality for the first time in the 68-year history of the civic body.
While the LDF sought to downplay the episode, terming it a one-off incident, the UDF highlighted it as a manifestation of the deep divisions within the LDF.
“The UDF’s attempt is to use this incident as a tool to break the CPI(M)-KC(M) unity for electoral gains. The incident, however, was the result of a difference of opinion between two individuals,” said Lalichan George, a member of the CPI(M) district secretariat, during a joint press conference with the KC(M) leaders.
UDF view
A leadership meeting of the UDF, on the other hand, noted the incident had brought shame to Pala and attributed the episode to attempts by the KC(M) to hijack the CPI(M) in Pala. “That they did not initiate any disciplinary actions against the persons involved in this shameful incident itself shows the political erosion both sides are facing,” said Saji Manjakadambil, chairman of the UDF committee in Kottayam.
