Nascent PDP faces desertion

ALL the office-bearers and members of the Mattancherry mandalam committee of the party subsequently resigned from the party to express their solidarity with Syed, which forced Madani to order the dissolution of the mandalam committee.

Syed is a formidable leader in Mattancherry, with many friends outside the PDP and political circles. Before joining the PDP, he was an activist of the Indian National Congress, having served the organisation in various capacities as KPCC member, DCC secretary, district Seva Dal chairman, Mattanchery block Congress president and municipal councillor. He also wields considerable clout as the secretary of the powerful Cochin Thuramukha Thozhilali Union (CTTU).

After his departure from the PDP, many parties such as the Muslim League, the Congress and the CPM are reportedly in touch with Syed in an apparent effort to wean him to their respective folds.

After the miserable failure of its efforts to forge a third front in the State, the PDP has been in political isolation. There are allegations that many district committees are not properly constituted and political circles do not rule out the possibility of further exodus. But Madani is making a determined effort to keep the folks together by planning a number of mass mobilisation programmes like the ongoing fortnight-long march led by him from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram, a State-wide hartal on December 6 and a Parliament march on December 17, all aimed at focussing attention on its demand for reconstruction of the Babri Masjid.