Crises in Keral ruling coalition over seat-sharing

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JUNE 12: The crisis in the ruling coalition over sharing of seats for the June 23 Rajya Sabha elections from Kerala de...

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JUNE 12: The crisis in the ruling coalition over sharing of seats for the June 23 Rajya Sabha elections from Kerala deepened today with the CPI fielding its candidate in defiance of the decision of the CPI(M) which heads the coalition.

For the three vacant seats, four candidates — one each belonging to the CPI, CPI(M) and RSP of the ruling coalition, and one from the Opposition IUML — have filed their nomination papers.

While MP Abdussamad Samadani (IUML), CPI leader V.V. Raghavan and CPI(M) state committee member K. Chandran pillai filed their nominations today, RSP nominee N.K. Premachandran had filed his papers on June 9.

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Thus, the differences between the two major constituents of the ruling Left democratic Front, widened and the dispute remained unresolved.

The CPI(M) has virtually pushed the CPI to the wall by “unilaterally” deciding to field its candidate and allot another to a minor partner — RSP –for two of the three seats.

Peeved by the “big brotherly” attitude of the CPI(M), the CPI had entered the fray, nursing the grouse that the former had not consulted or discussed the seat-sharing issue at the state committee of the LDF, the highest policy-making body of the ruling coalition.

Of the three seats, the LDF is confident of winning two seats, going by its strength of 77 in the 140-member state assembly. The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) could win the one seat allotted to the IUML as it has 63 members. But the UDF leader Congress (I) will go unrepresented in the upper house from the state.