3 days ago
Late-night mission to Anvar's house puts Mamkootathil in a spot
A furtive late-night visit to All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) leader P.V. Anvar's house in Malappuram, ostensibly to beseech him not to contest in the Nilambur Assembly bypoll, appears to have put Youth Congress State president Rahul Mamkootathil, and his party's leadership, in a spot.
Discomfitingly for the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] campaign in Nilambur alleged that Mr. Mamkootathil had fallen to his knees in supplication in front of Mr. Anvar at the behest of his 'mentor' and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, and the UDF was panicky about the AITMC leader's independent electoral foray. The CPI(M) disseminated viral videos of Mr. Mamkootathil glad-handling Mr. Anvar.
Mr. Anvar, a twice-elected Left Democratic Front-backed (LDF) Independent legislator from Nilambur, had lobbied for a position in the United Democratic Front (UDF) since his bitter exit from the ruling front, consequent to his resignation as Nilambur MLA. and political re-emergence as the AITMC's State coordinator.
Mr. Mamkootathil's 'self-styled mission' to Mr. Anvar came on the day when the UDF proclaimed it was loath to accommodate Mr. Anvar in the alliance until the latter agreed to withdraw his public scepticism about the winnability of Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath in Nilambur.
The UDF also appeared chary of Mr. Anvar's alleged bid to dictate the candidate selection process by suggesting the name of another local leader from the Christian settler-farmer community, a significant electoral bloc in the constituency, instead.
'A disservice'
Mr. Satheesan disavowed Mr. Mamkootathil's overture to Mr. Anvar. He said Mr. Mamkootathil had done the party and the UDF a disservice. Neither the Congress nor the UDF had tasked him to play an emissary's role. 'He went on his own volition, and I have castigated him for the unsanctioned act,' he said.
Mr. Mamkootathil said he had called on Mr. Anvar to persuade the latter not to lose focus on dismantling 'Pinarayism,' a UDF euphemism for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's governance.
His response
Mr. Mamkootathil dismissed accusations that he had left a UDF campaign meeting for the impromptu late-night embassy without informing party colleagues and in an alleged act of political one-upmanship. 'I accept the Congress's decision that I had erred,' he said.
Mr. Anvar said he had told Mr. Mamkootathil that Mr. Satheesan was the sole obstacle to his UDF entry and alleged that the Leader of the Opposition was in cahoots with Mr. Vijayan to deny the AITMC political space in Kerala.
