The Congress in Kerala survived a scare but sailed into a fresh crisis. While the party’s official candidates to the Rajya Sabha scraped through defeating K. Karunakaran’s man, the Congress was left with the bigger question of how to handle the dissidents, including the veteran politician, who openly defied the party.While official Congress candidates Vayalar Ravi and Thennala Balakrishna Pillai polled 38 and 36 votes respectively, LDF’s K Chandran Pillai (CPM) got 39 votes. Karunakaran’s candidate Kodoth Govindan Nair got 26 votes.As soon as the results were out, the non-Karunakaran factions in the party launched a campaign for the removal of KPCC president K Muraleedharan, son of the veteran rebel. Three KPCC general secretaries — Joseph Vazhakkan, K C Abu and Ajay Tharayil — sent a fax message to the party high command asking for his immediate removal. They said Muraleedharan had committed grave indiscipline by bringing about a serious crisis for Congress and the UDF Government.Antony loyalists are also demanded action against Electricity Minister Kadavoor Sivadasan and Health Minister P Sankaran, two Karunakaran loyalists in the Antony Ministry. They had also brought the double-role played by Muraleedharan to the notice of the the two AICC obsevers, R K Dhawan and Ghulam Nabi Azad. They expect that the High Command will act once it gets the observers’ report.But there was restraint and caution in Antony’s words. He said he would focus on bringing back the development agenda of the Government on track rather than initiate vengeful action against the Congress MLAs who supported the rebel candidate.Asked whether he would drop the two ministers of the Karunakaran faction, Antony said: ‘‘How can I say now whether they voted for the rebel candidate?’’While in the morning, speaking in Kerala, Karunakaran was ‘confident’ of Nair’s victory, but after the results he said Nair’s candidature was only symbolic to show the apathy to his faction. He also stressed that he was ‘‘not keen’’ on distabilising the UDF coalition government in Kerala. However, his daughter and Kerala Tourism Development Corporation chairperson Padmaja Venugopal signalled more conflict when she said the faction had proved to be a decisive force as it got 26 votes. The High Command was cautious. Though Nair lost the race, he polled 26 votes and at the time of nomination, 20 Congress MLAs had signed in his favour. It just takes only 21 to effect a split in the party.General-secretary in charge of Kerala Ambika Soni was cautious about commenting on action against Karunakaran. ‘‘Despite our best efforts, a contest was forced on us in Kerala. The two observers who went to the state, Ghulam Nabi Azad and R.K. Dhawan, talked to everyone of the party MLAs. In case action is necessary, it would be taken only after they submit their report to the party president tonight,’’ Soni told Express News Service in New Delhi.She also stressed Congress president Sonia Gandhi talked to every senior leader of the party to ‘‘bridge any communication gap’’ that may be been there. Talking of the 20 MLAs who had openly seconded the rebel candidate, she said, ‘‘Once the observers give their report, we will know what were the compulsions of the MLAs, what pressures were working on them. And they have a right to appeal to the Congress president.’’On why Nair was expelled and not Karunakaran who was supporting him, Soni said, ‘‘The party asked him to withdraw his nomination in favour of the official candidates. And only he could have taken his nomination back. Nor Karunakaran or anyone else.’’
