Thiruvananthapuram: The decision of the Kerala Congress (M) to quit the UDF on Sunday was a culmination of a series of events starting from the party accusing that Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala was behind the conspiracy to discredit their leader K. M. Mani through the bar bribery case.
However, Kerala Congress (Francis George) leader Antony Raju who was with Mr Mani then dismissed it alleging that a bigger Neta than him was involved in the conspiracy. Though the focus is now on Mr Chennithala, the internal report prepared on the conspiracy angle figured another top leader as the main accused.
The party which is often described as a personal fiefdom of Mr Mani believed that the bar bribery allegation was prompted by the Congress which wanted to stop him leaving the UDF. This was the reason why the party initiated an inquiry into the ‘conspiracy’ and leaked enough hints to suggest that the Congress was behind it.
However, one of the main reasons according to Kerala Congress insiders for leaving the UDF was the suspicion that the Congress party had given secret support to candidates who were fielded against the KC (M) in the assembly elections including the silent support to P.C. George in Poonjar. They also suspected a move to defeat Mr Mani from Pala. They blamed the Congress for the defeat in constituencies like Thiruvalla and Ettumanoor.
