KOTTAYAM: Kerala Congress (M) chairman K.M. Mani has proved once again that he will not allow anyone in the party to grow beyond a point. Virtually clipping the wings of working chairman P.J. Joseph, the party has fielded Mr Thomas Chazhikadan to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Kottayam against formidable rivals like Mr V.N. Vasavan, outgoing CPM district secretary, and Mr P.C. Thomas of the NDA, who is a six-time MP. Mr Chazhikadan is no match for them and Mr Joseph has alleged that Mr Mani has made him the candidate to help the LDF candidate.
It is also alleged that Mr Chazhikadan has been thrown into the battlefield suddenly without any prior preparations, unlike in the case of Mr Jose K. Mani last time.
When Mr Jose entered the fray, the booth-level work had begun at least two years ago and the LDF and the NDA had brought in weak candidates against him, KC(M) sources told DC. His rivals were Tiruvalla MLA Mathew T. Thomas of the Janata Dal (S) Mr Noble M. Mathew of the NDA.
On the other hand, the Kerala Congress (M) has not taken into consideration the winning chances of Mr Chazhikadan, who has been made a scapegoat, sources said.
The former MPs of the party also did not have a happy relationship with the leadership on various issues. They were Rajya Sabha members Thomas Kuthiravattom (1985-1991) and Joy Nadukkara (1991-1996) and George J. Mathew, Scaria Thomas and P.C. Thomas, Lok Sabha members.
They parted ways with Mr Mani due to the oneupmanship of the leadership.
