Thiruvananthapuram:
Three Congress MLAs quit their Assembly seats on getting elected to the Lok Sabha this year. And three other Congressmen have taken their place in the Assembly.
The story of the by-elections to three Kerala Assembly constituencies could have been that simple. But it is not because Kerala has crucial civic elections next year and Assembly elections due in 2011. And while the result makes no difference to the CPM-led LDF government in terms of numbers and stability, it is being seen as politically important.
For one this follows the Congress-led UDF's impressive performance in the Lok Sabha elections, this year.
Also, the LDF suffered a blow in politically-sensitive Kannur, where Congress candidate and former CPM MP AP Abdullakutty beat the CPM's M V Jayarajan by over 12000 votes.
Abdullakutty has represented Kannur twice in the Lok Sabha as a CPM man. He was expelled from the party a few months ago for having suggested that Kerala follow the development model of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
At that time Abdullakutty had said he would join another mainstream party that "ensures intra-party democracy and freedom of expression." The Congress snapped him up.
Congress candidates Dominic Presentation and AA Shakur also won Ernakulam and Alappuzha respectively, making it a 3-0 score for the Congress in Kerala.
The story of the by-elections to three Kerala Assembly constituencies could have been that simple. But it is not because Kerala has crucial civic elections next year and Assembly elections due in 2011. And while the result makes no difference to the CPM-led LDF government in terms of numbers and stability, it is being seen as politically important.
For one this follows the Congress-led UDF's impressive performance in the Lok Sabha elections, this year.
Also, the LDF suffered a blow in politically-sensitive Kannur, where Congress candidate and former CPM MP AP Abdullakutty beat the CPM's M V Jayarajan by over 12000 votes.
Abdullakutty has represented Kannur twice in the Lok Sabha as a CPM man. He was expelled from the party a few months ago for having suggested that Kerala follow the development model of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
At that time Abdullakutty had said he would join another mainstream party that "ensures intra-party democracy and freedom of expression." The Congress snapped him up.
Congress candidates Dominic Presentation and AA Shakur also won Ernakulam and Alappuzha respectively, making it a 3-0 score for the Congress in Kerala.
