Things did not, however, go the way PV may have hoped, given that his arch rival emerged as the biggest scorer and his allies, Karunakaran and Mukherjee, lost while his critics, Antony and Jakhar, won. The Kautilyan PV found a way out. He expressed displeasure that not a single woman or Dalit leader had been elected. He wondered how fair the election process was. His supporters claimed that upper castes had seized the election process. PV struck quickly by suggesting that all elected members resign so that he could bring in women and Dalit representatives.
