KC(J) to break alliance with LDF; split likely

But the situation is different in the UDF,which has of late become an asylum for disgruntled parties and persons from the LDF. The Congress is worried that it would have to make space for the KC (J).

Last year,the UDF accommodated the JD(S) after the latter broke up with the LDF over seat sharing in the LS elections. In the meantime, Kerala Congress (Secular),which had the Left support,too entered the UDF.

After the delimitation,four Assembly segments had vanished from Central Kerala,which is the political field of the Kerala Congress groups. This would further put pressure on the UDF when it would sit for the seat-sharing exercise for next years Assembly election.

If the KC(J)-KC(M) merger becomes a reality,the unified Kerala Congress would emerge further stronger within the UDF,a dream of the Christian Bishops in Kerala. The broader Christian party would pull down the Indian Union Muslim League from the slot of the second leading partner of the Congress in Kerala. The Congress is not party to the developments within the KC(M) and the KC(J). The merger of a Left element is an internal matter of the KC(M), said UDF convener and Congress leader P P Thankachan.

The Catholic Church has been exerting pressure on KC(J) to severe its ties with the Left as the Church-CPM relation had soured over various issues,since the LDF came to power in 2006.