Antony-Karunakaran talks fail

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 25. The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. A.K. Antony, today called on the senior leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran, at his residence here and held a one-hour discussion.

However, the meeting did not produce the desired results and was described as unsatisfactory. This was because Mr. Antony could not give Mr. Karunakaran any sort of commitment on his main demand for making his son, Mr. K. Muraleedharan, the KPCC president before the Assembly elections.

Mr. Antony's meeting assumes significance in the context of the statements of the AICC general secretary, Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, confirming that the Congress president would decide who should be the Chief Minister and KPCC president after the elections. His statement that Mr. Antony would lead the UDF in the elections had irritated Mr. Karunakaran. Mr. Antony's attempt was to assuage ruffled feelings, but it did not bear any results, because Mr. Karunakaran remained adamant about his demand. Mr. Antony also reportedly refused to give any kind of assurance to the senior leader that Mr. Muraleedharan would be made KPCC president after the election.

Mr. Antony reportedly also brought up the issues which have been scheduled for Monday's High Power Committee meeting. The committee is holding its preliminary dialogue on seat- sharing. Significantly, this is for the first time that the HPC will be meeting in the absence of either Mr. Karunakaran or Mr. Muraleedharan. Both of them left for New Delhi this afternoon, ostensibly to attend Parliament.

At the KPCC executive meeting, Mr. Antony made it clear that he was ready to go to any extent to ensure unity if all sections in the party really wanted it. And it was for the leaders to decide whether the party should fight with a united face. Mr. Karunakaran also made some oblique remarks about some of the leaders considering themselves too big for their boots.

The UDF meeting is likely to arrive at a general understanding on norms for seat-sharing. According to senior leaders, the HPC is likely to retain the status quo in relation to the sitting seats. The question of accommodating the RSP(B), a recent entrant to the UDF, would also be worked out. After that, the party would hold bilateral discussions with its coalition partners. It is at these discussions that the various parties would raise demands for additional seats and if necessary exchange a few seats.

According to sources, Mr. Karunakaran would participate in the bilateral dialogues with the UDF partners and by the time the Congress takes up the process of its candidates' selection, which is likely to begin after March 8, the last session of the 10th Assembly would conclude.

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Section  : Southern States
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