Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu addressing journalists at a past event. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
Nearly one month after ODM conducted nominations in Taita Taveta County, the rivalry between Governor John Mruttu and Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu over the party ticket to vie for governor is getting uglier with each passing day.The decision by the party's elections board to declare Mwadeghu the winner of the hotly-contested nominations was quashed by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal which ordered for a repeat of the nominations in the polling stations where voting allegedly never took place. However, unhappy with the decision, Mwadeghu on Monday appealed the tribunal's ruling at the High Court.With barely three months remaining to the August contest, Raila's ODM is now facing an acid test in their quest to cement their coastal political bedrock which has been wavering of late.With a risk to rattle their support bases that will prompt voter backlash, ODM is faced with a delicate balancing act especially in Taita Taveta lest they lose the seat to Jubilee's Dan Mwazo who is seen as a strong contender to clinch the top county seat.Mruttu had earlier threatened to vie as independent candidate should Mwadeghu receive the party's nomination certificate.Should he make good his threat, then ODM may be teetering on brink of losing the seat.However, while speaking on Wednesday last week, Mruttu who is Raila Odinga's point man in the region dismissed claims that he has already ditched the party to run as an independent.