Bargaining power of allies of the two rival fronts, the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), will come into play in the coming days with the Election Commission of India issuing notification for polls to three vacancies from the State to the Rajya Sabha on March 31.
Already leaders of political parties have swung into action for securing nominations in the Upper House vacated by Congress Working Committee member A.K.Antony, CPI (M) leader K. Somaprasad and Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) State president M.V. Shreyams Kumar.
As the political composition is tending to favour the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha, both the CPI (M) and the Congress are unlikely to yield the seats to their alliance partners.
Apprehensions in the Congress that the change in equations could deprive the party the main opposition party status in the Rajya Sabha has prompted its leadership not to accede the lone seat to any of its constituents.
At a same time , a legion of leaders including former KPCC presidents - Mullappally Ramachandran. M.M. Hassan and V. M. Sudheeran - former Union Minister K.V. Thomas, prominent losers of the Assembly polls V. T. Balram, Shanimol Usman and M. Liju are aspiring for the seat.
Despite the odds stacked against Mr. Shreyams Kumar, the LJD of the Left coalition has upped the ante to retain the seat in which he was elected in August 2020 to complete the remaining tenure of his father M.P. Veerendrakumar, who died that year. It remains to be seen whether the CPI (M) will listen to the grouse of the party which was badly off after a section of senior leaders abandoned the party and also were disadvantaged without a Ministerial berth.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is strongly hankering for a seat for its State president P.C. Chacko while the Communist Party of India (CPI) has also decided to throw its hat into the ring for a second seat in Rajya Sabha.
Sources said that the State committee of the CPI (M), which is meeting on Wednesday, will not to relent to these demands as the party wants to accommodate senior leaders or benched Ministers of the previous LDF government. Incidentally, four of the nine Rajya Sabha members from the State are from the CPI (M)
