Chacko to campaign for LDF in Kerala

Congress leader PC Chacko, who had been marginalized in the Congress, made the shift two days back and is expected to campaign extensively in support of the ruling CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front. Chacko’s shift to NCP was anticipated, said Congress insiders noting that the leader is said to have influence in parts of Thrissur and Chalakudy though he plans to travel across all the 14 districts, writes senior journalist Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: The recent move of former Congress leader PC Chacko to join the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party in Kerala may not dent the electoral prospects of the UDF much but can only be used by the ruling LDF to embarrass its political rival.

Chacko, who had been marginalized in the Congress, made the shift two days back and is expected to campaign extensively in support of the ruling CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front of which NCP is a constituent.

Chacko, 74, has been away from state politics for a long time but had represented areas like Thrissur, Mukundapuram and Idukki in the Lok Sabha in 1991, 1996 and 1998 respectively.

Though the former Congress leader dubbed his joining the NCP as home coming, the Sharad Pawar-led party was itself grappling with factionalism which led to Pala lawmaker Mani C Kappan float his new outfit Nationalist Congress (Kerala) in February and announce that he will join the Congress-led United Democratic Front.

Congress Kerala unit chief Mullapally Ramachandran wanted Kappan to join the grand old party but the NCP rebel chose to have an independent platform instead.

Kappan, who did not get to contest from Pala in the LDF, has been assured of the assembly seat by the Congress besides two other seats.

CPI-M leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had spoken to NCP leader Praful Patel about Kappan’s move but could not stop the rebel from parting ways.

The sight of Pawar welcoming Chacko with open arms only reflected the shadow boxing going on between the Congress and the NCP in the southern state though the two parties share power in the western state of Maharashtra.

UDF managers said Chacko’s graph went down after the Congress was wiped out in Delhi under his watch. Further, his targeting three-term former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit for the party’s decline in the national capital, too did not go down well with the high command which had trusted the Kerala leader to revive the party in Delhi.

Chacko’s shift to NCP was anticipated, said Congress insiders noting that the leader is said to have influence in parts of Thrissur and Chalakudy though he plans to travel across all the 14 districts.

The leader, they said, is more likely to be used by the LDF to highlight infighting in the Congress state unit and project the CPI-M-led grouping as a better option.

The UDF managers are banking on the huge success of the alliance in the 2019 national election when the grouping bagged 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in the coastal state and hope the rally would continue in 2021 as well.

The LDF, which won just one Lok Sabha seat in 2019, has become hopeful of a second term owing to its good performance in the December 2020 local body polls, which were seen by the pollsters as a kind of semi-final ahead of the 2021 assembly polls.

Polling for the 140-member Kerala Assembly will be held on April 6. Results will be out on May 2.