Karunakaran vows 'mother of all meetings'

The Congress faction led by Karunakaran vowed that today's mega meeting at Ernakulam to celebrate Indira Gandhi's 86th birth anniversary would be 'the mother of all Congress meetings'.

Work is on at a feverish pace in Ernakulam where scores of Congressmen, belonging to the Karunakaran faction, are throwing their weight behind the show, which they hope will prove who is the Congress 'boss' in Kerala.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President and Karunakaran's son, K. Muraleedharan, has given a dose of inspiration to the group's cadres, stating that he would be participating in the meeting. But the political arc lights will be on Karunakaran himself as the state looks for a hint from the seasoned politician about his group's next step in trying to unseat Chief Minister A.K. Antony.

The meeting itself may not end up splitting the Congress party in Kerala, but on display will be a number of Congressmen supporting Karunakaran. The stage, which is getting its finishing touches, will play host to 200 Congressmen. Among them will be the two dozen-odd people, political observers are keenly waiting to see - the MLAs who have thrown their weight behind the former chief minister in his attempt to topple Antony.

In an attempt to effect a change of leadership in Kerala, the Karunakaran group has made every effort to make the show a gala affair. Around 300,000 people are set to take part and the group has contracted 6,000-odd buses to transport supporters.