Majority Report

The UDF government in Kerala survives by just two seats—it has 72 in the 140 member House.

The UDF government in Kerala survives by just two seats—it has 72 in the 140 member House. This most slender of majorities might have become even thinner with a byelection due in Piravomon 18 March. The UDF is on the weaker side in Piravom due to a range of issues, including the Italian ship’s shooting of local fishermen. And then, suddenly, out of the blue, an opposition CPM MLA R Selvaraj resigned his seat blaming it on factionalism in the party. It has made the state government breathe slightly easier. But that it should come on the threshold of such a decisive bypoll is making everyone suspect horse trading. After CPM got over its initial shock, it started coming up with allegations of how Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had swung the MLA. Two weeks back, Chandy had allotted Rs 25 crore to Neyyattinkara constituency, which Selvaraj represents. A TV channel also exposed the telecom details of the MLA, which showed calls being made to a prominent UDF leader before his resignation.

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Shahina KK