Kerala's father-son politicians may join hands

Thiruvananthapuram: A few months ago it had looked unlikely that Kerala's seasoned politician and former chief minister K. Karunakaran and his son K. Muraleedharan would be on the same side of the political fence.

National and local politics have taken such twists in recent times that the father-son duo that had left the Congress and been in political wilderness for a while may soon be united under the umbrella grouping of the United Democratic Front.

However, that could ruffle feathers of many Congress leaders in Kerala, who have already expressed their uneasiness about the return of the Karuanakaran-Muraleedharan team in the party.

Karunakaran, who had quit the Congress and floated the Democratic Indira Congress (K) party, later returned to his parent party and was readmitted. However, his father's move to ditch DIC(K) and reunite with the Congress had irked Muraleedharan, who has since been keeping a distance from his father. DIC(K) has since merged with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

With the NCP likely to align itself with the Congress through a decision at the national level, the stage seems set for Muraleedharan to be working in tandem with his father.