With Lok Sabha polls approaching, senior Congress leader from Kerala K. Karunakaran today threatened to float a new party next week. At the ‘I’ group meet in Thiruvananthapuram, Karunakaran said the new party would bear Indira Gandhi’s name and will have her face as it’s symbol. But his son and KPCC chief K. Muraleedharan has decided to stay with the Congress led by Sonia Gandhi. The senior leader held back from splitting the party over a proposed deal on Lok Sabha seats and ministerial berths to his loyalists versus others. While Karunakaran said he was sad leaving the party after such a long association, the AICC said it was only because of this association that it ‘‘ignored his open criticism of the Congress state government and the central leadership’’. ‘‘We could not meet his demand of replacing CM A.K. Antony, who enjoys the confidence of the majority in the Congress Legislative Party,’’ an AICC statement added. Karunakaran today paraded 19 MLAs, including ministers Kadavur Shivadasan and P. Shankaran. The two also attended the Cabinet meeting, after which Antony said that he will not act against the two as the party won’t split. The AICC clarified that the moment Karunakaran floats the party, he would cease to be a party member ‘‘according to the Congress constitution’’. The Congress was hoping to repeat the success in Punjab here by accommodating Muraleedharan as a minister. But it fell through when Karunakaran told AICC Kerala in-charge, Ahmed Patel, that ‘‘whatever is being planned for Muraleedharan is not acceptable to me’’. ‘‘I asked him, tell me your demands. But he said, he will get back to me,’’ Patel said. Soon after that, Karunakaran made the announcement. In Delhi, senior leader Pranab Mukherjee added: ‘‘The party is not thinking of talking to Karunakaran.’’ •BJP gets Amma, Cong may ‘lose’ Indira
