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Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram
By Girish Menon
In fact, there seems to be a North-South divide in loyalties between the two off-springs of the senior leader, who the other day made a bid to end any kind of disunity which might have adverse impact on his political moves against the Chief Minister, A.K. Antony. Ms. Venugopal has the full support of MLAs mainly from the southern districts. It is but natural for Mr. Muraleedharan to command the support of Malabar-based MLAs in the Karunakaran camp (`I' group) as he represents the Kozhikode Lok Sabha seat, which covers some of the Assembly constituencies. Those who have identified themselves with Mr. Muraleedharan include A.D. Mustapha, the Ministers, P. Sankaran and K.V. Thomas, Radha Raghavan, A.D. Appachan, Therambil Ramakrishnan, A.P. Anil Kumar, P.J. Joy, V.J. Paulose, and C.P. Mohammed. M.P. Gangadharan, who is the deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party, has not openly identified himself with any one, but is a strong campaigner against two power centres in the Karunakaran camp. But his recent utterances have clearly revealed his preference. Some of the MLAs are not willing to express their loyalties, but have shown clear preference for Ms. Venugopal, who has not concealed her differences with her brother, Mr. Muraleedharan, in recent interviews to private television channels. The MLAs who are willing to take open positions have their own logical reasoning for taking positions. Many prefer to identify with Mr. Muraleedharan not because they adore him like his father, but rather they want to be seen to be on the side of the KPCC in the event of any dispute which might crop up in future. The behind-the-scenes developments in the Karunakaran camp suggest that Mr. Karunakaran's plea for unity in the faction is not going to be considered. In the faction meeting held earlier this week, Mr. Karunakaran had stressed the need for unity in the camp. He had also made it clear that he could not disown either his son or daughter, but added that he would not tolerate attempts to harm Mr. Muraleedharan. Most of the Karunakaran MLAs say they would not hesitate to stand like a rock behind their revered leader, but they dislike two power centres. Developments in the Karunakaran camp, centered around Ms. Venugopal and Mr. Muraleedharan, would be a kind of relief for the Chief Minister as he need not worry about internal threats within the party at least for the time being. According to Antony supporters, the differences in his camp would keep Mr. Karunakaran pre-occupied. The dilemma before Mr. Karunakaran is how to keep his son's growing image in tact while at the same time promoting the political ambitions of his daughter, who, he feels, has a slot in Kerala politics.
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