The Congress-led United Democratic Front heaved a sigh of relief on Friday as the independent candidate Joseph Kandathil, a close confidante of Kerala Congress working chairman P J Joseph withdrew his candidature from the September 23 bypoll scheduled from the Pala Assembly constituency.
The decision of Kandathil to withdrew from the bypoll came after minutes of the returning officer announced that Jose Tom Pulikkunnel, who had been fielded by the family of late K M Mani (whose death necessitated the by election) would be considered only as an independent candidate and not as a UDF candidate. This means that Pulikkunnel would not get Two Leaves, the election Commission approved symbol of the Kerala Congress.
Kandathil, who filed his nomination on Wednesday, the last day for filing the nomination, had created ripples in political circles, especially in the UDF camp which was confident of winning the byelection. The last 24 hours saw the UDF leaders Oommen Chandi and Mullappalli Ramachandran (the KPCC chief) going into a huddle to resolve the issue.
“It was like a storm in the tea cup which has been blown away by the concerted effort of the UDF leaders. Now it is time for action and winning the election,” said a senior Kerala Congress leader owing allegiance to the K M Mani family.