Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the Congress remained optimistic that the issues within its ally Kerala Congress (M) will be settled amicably, veteran leader P J Joseph who has crossed swords with the leadership of the regional party has stated that he can no longer work in harmony with the rival faction.
Joseph is of the view that he cannot work in tandem with the faction led by party patriarch K M Mani, say sources.
Joseph, who is miffed over being denied a ticket to contest from the Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency, on Wednesday met Congress veteran Oommen Chandy at the latter's residence here. Joseph is learnt to have conveyed to Chandy his discontent over the way he was treated in the party.
He also met leader of the opposition and senior Congress leader, Ramesh Chennithala, at the Cantonment House. Joseph will also be meeting KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran.
The KC(M) announced the candidature of Mani loyalist Thomas Chazhikadan in Kottayam seat despite Joseph, the working chairman of the party, publicly expressing his desire to contest the Lok Sabha polls from there.
Kottayam is the only seat allotted to the KC(M) by the Congress-led UDF.
After the candidature of Chazhikadan was announced, Joseph had said that he would decide on the future course of action after holding discussions with UDF leaders.
He left for Thiruvananthapuram Tuesday night. Before leaving he told media that he was "optimistic".
The Congress leaders have been maintaining that the KC(M) should solve the issues within the party. However, the Congress is likely to attempt to avoid a split in the KC (M) ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls. The senior Congress leaders will hold talks with KC(M) leaders K M Mani and Jose K Mani after listening to Jospeh's views.
Many district leaders of the Congress were vocal about their opposition to the Kerala Congress candidate Thomas Chazhikadan.
A meeting of the district committee of the Congress had to be called off midway as many leaders protested the choice of Chazhikadan as the coalition's candidate. They said that Chazhikadan had unnecessarily blamed the Congress for the front's defeat in the assembly election in Ettumanoor. The district leadership, however, denied reports of the disagreements.
Chazhikadan has already started his election campaign, meeting the Kottayam bishop and NSS general secretary Sukumaran Nair. He said he would also meet Joseph in person to ensure the senior leader's support.
Jose K Mani had won the Kottayam seat in the Lok Sabha polls held in 2014. The seat has been lying vacant since resignation of Mani from the seat in June last year after the UDF nominated him to the Rajya Sabha.
The CPM has fielded its district secretary V N Vasavan in Kottayam.
The BJP has agreed to give the seat to another Kerala Congress, an NDA constituent, led by former union minister P C Thomas. Thomas is likely to be fielded as NDA candidate from the seat.
Kerala Congress has undergone several splits over its half-a-century of existence.