TRIVANDRUM, 8 November 2003 — Congress party’s allies in the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala could not reach a consensus yesterday on seeking a vote of trust in the state legislative assembly even as the state Congress unit president K. Muraleedharan warned of a split in the party if Chief Minister A.K. Antony goes ahead with the move.
Antony initiated the move after the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) demanded a special session of the assembly to take up its resolution to remove Speaker Vakkom B. Purushothaman with the support of the Congress dissidents led by former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran who consider him as the biggest impediment before toppling the Antony government.
The UDF partners met at Agriculture Minister K.R. Gowri’s residence before an iftar party she hosted and decided to continue their efforts to defuse the crisis. E. Ahmed MP, general secretary of the second largest partner Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), will hold discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other leaders in New Delhi in the coming days on behalf of the allies.
