Chronic dissenters seldom get to stay long in the Congress. But Kerala's K. Karunakaran remains an exception. During the Indira-Rajiv regime, the doors of the Congress president's residence were always open for him. P.V. Narasimha Rao also gave him the kind of importance that made many senior party leaders go green with envy.

OLD WHINE: Muralidharan (left) may have to pay but the father will go scot-free

But the emergence of Sonia Gandhi as the Congress' undisputed leader saw the loyalist turn dissenter. Last week, Karunakaran-a veteran in the art of political brinkmanship-pushed matters to the edge when, rejecting feelers from the party high command, he fielded a rebel candidate against the party's official representatives in the Rajya Sabha elections. Since then, the Congress has been grappling with a dilemma: take disciplinary action against Karunakaran or let the matter rest.

The party's official candidates won the elections, but the euphoria over the win was tinged with fresh doubts about the future of the A.K. Antony-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Government, which technically commands a comfortable 60-seat majority in the 140-member Kerala Assembly. Karunakaran's nominee, Govindan Nair, may have lost but the quandary that the Congress brass finds itself in seems compensation enough for the former chief minister. The contest helped the wily veteran achieve his basic objective: embarrass Sonia. "My aim was not to win but to prove a point. Let the leadership do what it wants," taunts the 85-year-old Karunakaran.

In the Congress, such impudence normally warrants expulsion. But on April 16, when senior leaders met at the AICC headquarters in Delhi to discuss action against Karunakaran, the issue was almost given a walkover. The meeting dispersed after recommending a limited course of action: a report (not even an explanation) from K. Muralidharan, the state Congress president who happens to be Karunakaran's son.

Muralidharan's predicament is unenviable. It is difficult to see him recommending punitive action against his father. At the same time, he cannot condone his father's act of open defiance. When AICC General Secretary Ambika Soni phoned him to ask for a report, Muralidharan promptly sent a five-page document to Delhi.

The high command is truly in a fix. If it doesn't take action against Karunakaran and Muralidharan, it might appear to be soft, and even prompt similar acts of defiance that could prove fatal, particularly in states that are due to go to polls soon. But if it acts tough, the father-son duo, who command considerable following in the state could make life difficult for the UDF. That is because new friendships are being forged. Karunakaran has already warned that 26 Congress MLAs who are his loyalists would not desist from supporting the Opposition CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), whose current strength is only 40. The UDF's strength-100 at the moment-will then come down to 74, while the Opposition's may go up to 66. The LDF has also voiced its willingness to support Karunakaran, once its bitter enemy. "We will give him all help to get the anti-people Antony Government out of power," says Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan.

Influential leaders, led by AICC General Secretary Vayalar Ravi, have asked the party's leadership to take stringent action against the dissenters. But despite the gravest provocations-Karunakaran appears almost daily on Malayalam TV channels with a fresh taunt aimed at the high command-Antony feels no action is necessary. That could be the chief minister's way of ensuring Karunakaran doesn't rock the UDF boat.

-M.G. Radhakrishnan and Lakshmi Iyer