The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) on Tuesday staked its claims for the Aruvikkara Assembly seat that fell vacant following the death of Speaker G. Karthikeyan and also the Deputy Speaker’s post, which came by following incumbent N. Sakthan’s election as successor to the late Congress leader.
The RSP’s demand was something that was expected, considering the fact that the party, with three legislators, held the number balance in the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) which has 73 members in the 140-member State Assembly.
The RSP leadership did not conceal the relative political advantage they currently had, but this virtually was going to put the Congress party on the defensive in view of the pressure to ensure stability of the ruling front.
The RSP State secretariat, which met here on Tuesday, authorised a three-member committee comprising party secretary A.A. Azeez, Labour Minister Shibu Baby John, and N.K. Premachandran, MP, to hold discussions with the Congress leadership.
Addressing mediapersons soon after the meeting, Mr. Azeez asserted that his party was holding the balance for the UDF because after the death of Karthikeyan and the ouster of K.B. Ganesh Kumar from the ruling front, the majority of the UDF in the Assembly had come down to 73. “Considering RSP’s pivotal position, the party has not got its entitled representation in the government,” he said.
When the RSP quit the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and joined the UDF, there were no ministerial slots, he said giving reasons for staking his party’s claims now.
His party had been contesting the Aryanad Assembly seat, which later transformed into the Aruvikkara seat. The Congress party was unlikely to surrender the seat to the RSP and would rather go by the coalition norms of allotting the seat to the party which held it previously.
But it would have to change this yardstick while filling the Deputy Speaker’s slot since it is clear that the RSP has upped its stake only as a bargaining point.
The by-election in the Aruvikkara is yet to be notified, but the RSP leadership apparently did not wait for such niceties to stake its claim.
Given the fact that political moves are being initiated to strengthen the Left platform at the national level and the CPI(M) has made overtures of sorts, the onus is on the RSP leadership to come up with valid justification for continuing in the ruling coalition.
The RSP’s demand was expected, considering that the party, with three legislators, held the number balance in the ruling United Democratic Front.
