Kerala   

Small parties now in a fix

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is not only the Congress which is having a tough time on account of the confidence vote in Parliament on July 21-22.

Three small parties in Kerala with representatives in the Lok Sabha too are finding themselves in a spot of bother on account of the confidence vote.

Two of them, the Kerala unit of the Janata Dal (Secular) led by Surendra Mohan and the Kerala Congress (Joseph), want to give their all to the Left parties’ resolve to see that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is discomfited in Parliament and the third, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), wants to go with the Congress, but none of them seems to be in a position to do what they want with any sense of comfort.

The IUML, a member of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), has decided to vote with the Congress on the confidence vote, but the party is caught in an internal feud over the demand of one section of leaders that E. Ahamed, the party nominee in the Manmohan Singh government, should simultaneously step down to display the party’s reservations about the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal.

Mr. Ahamed had stated that there was no question of his resigning, but the issue is simmering in the party.

The Kerala Congress (Joseph), though a UPA constituent, has decided to break ranks and remain with the Left when voting on the confidence motion.

But the party’s woe is that though it has two MPs, P.C. Thomas and Francis George, it would be able to contribute only one vote to the Left kitty. Mr. Thomas, whose election has been set aside, is barred from voting in the House.

The JD(S) does not have independent status. Technically, it is part of the JD(S) led by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and only JD(S) Kerala president M.P. Veerendrakumar belongs to the Surendra Mohan wing.

His difficulty is that he will not be able to vote with the Left if Mr. Gowda decides to support the confidence motion.

Mr. Gowda is yet to open his mind on which way he would vote.

He had told the Left leaders that he would vote against the motion of confidence, but nobody is taking his word for it. If he chooses to vote for the motion, it would mean that Mr. Veerendrakumar would have to violate the party whip, which would mean disqualification with all the attendant consequences.

Mr. Veerendrakumar and his colleagues are still working on how best to tackle the difficult situation.

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