Kottayam: The much awaited and tough fight for the Pala Assembly constituency has come to an end with victory favouring the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and its candidate and NCP leader, Mani C. Kappan.
Mani C. Kappan will become the first MLA to represent Pala constituency since the demise of Kerala Congress veteran, K. M. Mani.
One of the main factors which contributed to the win of Mani C. Kappan was the unresolved infighting in the Kerala Congress (M) between K. M. Mani’s son Jose K. Mani and the Chairman of the party, P. J. Joseph.
The UDF candidate did not even get the party symbol because P. J. Joseph used his position as Chairman to deny the candidate the party symbol. He was displeased with Jose K. Mani faction for trying to usurp the party position and had tried to put up his loyalist as the candidate.
The UDF candidate, Jose Tom, blamed the party leader for his defeat and announced that votes were shifted in favour of Mani C. Kappan. He said that once the final results are out it will be known who have transferred the votes to the rival party.
Meanwhile, P. J. Joseph has begun to accuse Jose K. Mani for transferring the votes so that their rival LDF could win.
