Kottayam :Although UDF says all is well and finalised on seat-sharing front, the claim is from truth. Friction is in full swing with. PJ Joseph adamant on four seats, and Congress is unwilling to give in. And now with Youth Congress insisting Ettumanoor be snatched from Joseph, the party is faced with more dilemma than it bargained for.
Candidate Selection Row
Amid ongoing ruckus over seat-sharing, clashes are rife in Congress over candidate selection too. There are several in Joseph faction, deeply passionate about seats. Mons Joseph has clinched his stake in Kaduthuruthi and that leaves too many contenders vying for the remaining seats. In Ettumanoor and Changanasserry, PJ Joseph faces threat from group dissenters as well though efforts are on to work out some kind of reconciliation.
The District President of Joseph Group, Saji Maanjakadamban, has signaled his wish for two seats. Meanwhile, Pince Lukose is a priority with the faction for the Ettumanoor seat.
There is a lingering feel among PJ Joseph’s loyalists that the faction has been compartmentalized to reimain iinside Kottayam . Despite demands for four, the group was forced reconcilse with just three seats. Youth Congress has now taken to streets demanding Ettumanoor seat back. Talks are on and we hope to secure one more seat in the district, a District Leader from Joseph faction said.
Multi-front Dilemma
Mahila Congress president Lathika Subash is insistent on a seat for herself, worsening headache for Congress.. While Congress has no plans to field her anywherel, Lathika is determined to fight polls this time around. Added to this is Youth Congress’s ruckus over Ettumanoor seat and to top it all there exists threats of dissent to deal with.
Joseph faction is not reconciled, at least not yet, over its shrinkage to three seats. However, Congress appears unlikely to yield to i demand for four..
Earlier, " A " Group attempted to install Irikoor MLA KC Joseph in Changanasserry, however, the seat ended up in PJ Joseph’s kitty. Later, KC Joseph tried pulling strings for the Ettumanoor seat only to be faced with dead end. Kanjirapally now looks the only likely option. However, Youth Congress members themselves are up against him with anti-campaign on social media saying, “Kottayam does not want an MLA dumped by people of Irikoor.’
