The much-hyped ‘setback’ suffered by the Joseph faction of the Kerala Congress (M) in Idukki turns out to be hypothetical as the figures in the local body elections show. Compared to the Jose K. Mani faction, which contested the elections under the Left Democratic Front banner, the P.J. Joseph faction in the United Democratic Front scored well in grama panchayats and the district panchayat.
While the Joseph faction won 84 seats in grama panchayats, the Mani faction got 47seats.
In the block panchayat, the two factions got 12 seats each, and in the district panchayat, the Joseph faction bagged four seats while the Jose faction secured just one.
In the Thodupuzha municipality, both the factions won two seats each. The two UDF rebels there will decide the ruling front as the UDF had 13 seats, LDF 12, and the National Democratic Alliance won eight seats.
In the Kattappana municipality, the Joseph faction got three seats and the Mani faction, two. The UDF has a clear majority there.
Mani group view
A leader of the Mani faction, however, said they had made inroads in the Christian stronghold in the district and the trend would continue in the Assemlby elections. He said this was for the first time that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) got a major chunk of Christian votes after the party joined the front.
Former president of the Muttom grama panchayat K.J. Kurien, who is in the Joseph faction, said it was the rebels in the Congress that played spoilsport to the party and the front.
Only two win
The media reports of the Joseph faction cutting a sorry figure were based on the initial results in the Thodupuzha municipality, considered the stronghold of party leader P.J. Joseph. Five candidates fielded by it were defeated there and only two managed to win. It gave the impression that the faction faced a reprisal in the entire district, according to leaders.
In the plantation areas of Udumbanchola and Devikulam taluks, both the factions have little base.
