Thiruvananthapuram: Soon after the vigilance special court rejected VACB’s closure report on Tuesday, LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan – the last person to implead in the bar bribery case – said both the BJP and the UDF had competed with each other to court KC(M) chief KM Mani who had then quit the UDF.“The LDF had taken a stand that there was no circumstance to discuss Mani’s entry to the front. We had also stood firm in our allegations against Mani and other UDF leaders,” claimed Vijayaraghavan, who had no responsibility with the front during that period.His calculated statement – totally dissociating himself and the front from Mani – is nothing but a deft political move; the natural outcome of a process initiated by the LDF that authorized him to implead in the case soon after Mani re-joined the UDF.Not only Vijayaraghavan, veteran leader VS Achuthanandan and CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also demanded a reinvestigation in the case, thus setting the ground for chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan – who will return home next week from the US – to sign the order for a further investigation in the case. The hint from the LDF is clear; it is all set to revive the bar bribery case and use it as a poll plank in 2019.CPM had been secretly nurturing a feeling of betrayal after Mani suddenly returned to the UDF camp. Though there were differences within the front, with CPI opposing any alliance with Mani, the CPM was hopeful of at least keeping him as an outside ally.Despite the LDF convener’s claim, it is an open secret that the CPM had made several secret moves to reach an understanding with Mani’s party. In fact, the third closure report filed by VACB – the first one after Pinarayi Vijayan took over the reins of the administration – choosing to endorse the findings of the first and second closure reports (filed during the tenure of Ramesh Chennithala as the home minister) was more of a political act than a policing one.Mani saw that olive branch and thought everything was over. Revival of the case, his legal advisers opined, was a near impossible task. Even now, sources in Mani’s coterie said a reinvestigation was unlikely to find fresh leads to take the case forward.The court’s decision will add fire to the unrest in the KPCC as its leadership trio had reached an unrealistic pact with Mani to win back his trust.A precious Rajya Sabha seat was surrendered to accommodate his son Jose K Mani in a safe parliamentary position. There was a rebellion within the state Congress over the secret pact stitched up by IUML leader PK Kunhalikutty with the connivance of Chandy, Chennithala and Hassan.In the coming days, more questions are likely to be levelled against the rationale for this seat surrender.

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