Norka minister Joseph faces stiff challenge from within own party

TRIVANDRUM — Various initiatives he took in his capacity as Minister for Non-Resident Keralites (Norka) for the welfare of Keralites living abroad, including formation of NRI commission and the smooth evacuation of expats trapped in several conflict zones are the major achievements being cited by K.C. Joseph for a fresh mandate at Irikkur in Kerala’s northern district of Kannur.

But this does not appear to be enough for Joseph, who won the last election in 2011 by a huge margin of 11,757 votes, to ensure his eighth consecutive victory in the constituency with a sizeable expat population. The challenge is not from opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) but from within his own party.

The first salvo against Joseph was fired by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V.M. Sudheeran, who wanted him to give way to a youngster. Though the party chief yielded to pressure from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to give the seat to Joseph, who is one of his close lieutenants, Sudheeran’s move has given rise to a strong revolt against his candidature in the constituency.

Though Kannur District Congress Committee has quelled the protests from local party men by suspending three rebels, much more have come up. They include a candidate of a Facebook group called ‘Irikkur Who will bell the cat?’ Shaji Kuriakose, who has been proposed by the group, said their attempt was to divide Joseph’s votes in Irrikur.

“I may not win the election but we will consider it our victory if Joseph is defeated. Our task will not be difficult as nearly half a dozen dissidents from Congress itself have come forward to contest against him,” Shaji told Khaleej Times.

He said he had nothing personal against the sitting MLA. He said their main grouse against him was his failure to lend his time for the development of the constituency. He said Joseph, who hails from Kottayam, was dividing his time between his native place and Trivandrum.

“The people, who face numerous problems, are forced to go to either Kottayam or the state capital

2,000 of the 13,000 who have joined the Facebook campaign against Joseph (left) are Irikkur voters

I may not win the election but we will consider it our victory if Joseph is defeated. Our task will not be difficult as nearly half a dozen dissidents from Congress itself have come forward to contest against him.

Shaji Kuriakose, a candidate of Facebook group

to meet their representative. We want this to end. We want an MLA who focuses his attention on the constituency,” he added.

Joseph, who has been representing the constituency for the past three-and-a-half decades, has not done anything for the constituency so far, Shaji said, adding that he was spending his time to serve his political masters and the people in his native place.

Though the social media has played a major role in several movements in Kerala, this is the first time that the new media is intervening in open politics in the state. The decision to field the candidate against Joseph is the culmination of an online campaign against him.

The group had come into existence after Sudheeran proposed the name of KPCC general secretary Advocate Sajeev Joseph in place of Joseph. Though it was intended to support Sajeev, the group decided to enter the fray after Sajeev refused to don the role of a rebel.

The decision evoked good response from netizens. Their supporters on Facebook has crossed 13,000 within days, according to group administrator Rakesh E.R. He said that 2,000 of these were voters in Irikkur. He is confident their candidate would be able to put up a good show as resentment against their sitting MLA was very high.