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Kerala Congress (B) is a registered-unrecognized political party in Kerala, formed by R. Balakrishna Pillai, a former minister of the government of Kerala. At present, the party has one MLA in the state Legislative Assembly, namely K. B. Ganesh Kumar, a well-known film actor and son of R. Balakrishna Pillai, who has been representing the Pathanapuram constituency in
Kollam District Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Lac ...
since 2001. The KC(B) was a constituent of UDF until 2014 and is now part of LDF. Ganesh Kumar served as a minister (portfolio in Forest, Sports and Cinema) in the UDF government beginning 18 May 2011 until his resignation on 2 April 2013.


History

The party was formed in 1977, following the split in Kerala Congress that occurred after the death of K. M. George due to differences that arose between K. M. Mani and R. Balakrishna Pillai. The party was a constituent of
Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the oth ...
on formation. Later it moved to the
congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
led
United Democratic Front (Kerala) The United Democratic Front (UDF) is the Indian National Congress-led alliance of centre to centre-left, and centre-right, political parties in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other be ...
and became a part of the Third Karunakaran ministry. The party chief R. Balakrishna Pillai was the minister of Transport in that ministry. During this period Pillai's home turf
Kottarakkara Kottarakkara (IAST: Koṭṭārakkara), also transliterated as ''Kottarakara'', is a town and municipality in the Kollam district of the Kerala, India. The town is close to Kollam Port, which has a rich history linked to the early medieval pe ...
got developed as a major
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the country's oldest state-run public bus transport services. The corporation is divided into three zones ( ...
hub of the state. In 1985, the Mani,
Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
and Pillai led KC (B) merged to form Kerala Congress. In 1987, Mani broke away from this merger and left the coalition government. However Pillai stayed with Joseph till 1989 and the KC (B) was revived again in 1989. In 1995,
Joseph M. Puthussery Joseph M. Puthussery (born at Kalloppara on 28 April 1959) is an Indian politician. He serves as senior leader of the Kerala Congress. Early life Joseph M. Puthussery was born on April 28, 1959 in Kallooppara, Pathanamthitta district of Ke ...
faction split and parted ways with Kerala Congress (B). In 2015, KC (B) joined LDF by leaving the UDF. On 3 May 2021, R. Balakrishna Pillai passes away due to age-related ailments. From 2017 onwards, he had been serving as the chairman of the Kerala State Welfare Corporation for Forward Communities, with cabinet rank. After Pillai's death, the State committee elected K. B. Ganesh Kumar as party chairman on 10 May 2021.


Performance in elections

The party chief, R. Balakrishna Pillai was elected to the
Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...
in 1971 and the State Assembly nine times since 1960 (1965, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1991,1996, 2001). However, in the 2006 election he was defeated by a little-known opponent belonging to the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...
. His son K. B. Ganesh Kumar, a Malayalam film and
television actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...
, made his electoral debut in 2001, when he was elected from Pathanapuram (State Assembly constituency). It was the election that the KC(B) reached its highest tally of 2 members in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. Ganesh went on to become Transport Minister in the Third Antony ministry. In a brief period of 2 years as minister he earned wide popularity for giving face-lift to the loss making
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the country's oldest state-run public bus transport services. The corporation is divided into three zones ( ...
. In 2003 Ganesh resigned and Pillai became the minister. Ganesh is currently the Acting Chairman of the Kerala Congress (B). Ganesh won the
2011 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The thirteenth Kerala legislative assembly election was held on 13 April 2011 to elect members representing 140 constituencies in Kerala. Election results were released on 13 May 2011. The election, whose results were released on 13 May 2011, ...
and was the Minister for Forest, Sports, and Cinema in the second Oommen Chandy Ministry from 2011 to 2013. He had to resign following complaints from his wife regarding domestic violence. The Party fielded two candidates in the 2011 election to the Kerala Assembly. N. N. Murali, a well known surgeon, is the party's candidate from Kottarakkara. Ganesh Kumar achieved a hat-trick win from the Pathanapuram constituency. But Murali was defeated by his relative and LDF candidate
P. Aisha Potty {{Infobox officeholder , honorific-prefix = , name = P. Aisha Potty MLA , image = P. Aisha Potty.jpg , native_name = പി. ആയിഷാ പോറ്റി , hono rific-suffix = , office ...
and only Ganesh Kumar could become MLA. In 2015, the party left UDF and joined LDF. Ganesh Kumar again contested from Pathanapuram in the 2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, and won for a fourth consecutive time, this time defeating another famous film actor
Jagadish P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his com ...
by a huge margin. Pathanapuram constituency got statewide attention in those elections as the three major contestants from the constituency were all film actors –
Ganesh Kumar Keezhoote Balakrishna Pillai Ganesh Kumar (born 25 May 1966) is an Indian actor, television host, and politician. Ganesh Kumar is a proposed cabinet minister for the last 2.5 years in the ongoing 2nd LDF govt in Kerala and he is also the curre ...
(KC (B),
Jagadish P. V. Jagadish Kumar (born 12 June 1955) known mononymously as Jagadish, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, television presenter and former politician. He has starred in over 375 Malayalam films and 2 Hindi films. He is best known for his com ...
( INC) and
Bheeman Raghu Bheeman Raghu (born 6 October 1953) is an Indian actor, singer, dancer, former politician and police officer (retired) who appears mainly in Malayalam films and is best known for his villainous and comedy roles. In a career spanning over three ...
(
BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...
). In the
2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election The 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held in Kerala on 6 April 2021 to elect 140 members to the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly. The results were declared on 2 May. The election saw the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF) reta ...
the party is contesting from only one seat under the
Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the oth ...
, in the Pathanapuram (State Assembly constituency) with K. B. Ganesh Kumar as the candidate.


Splinter group

After party founder and chairman R. Balakrishna Pillai's demise, a faction of the party led by Pillai's daughter Usha Mohandas, former MLA M. V. Mani and presidents of the party from 10 districts calls for the State committee meeting on 21 December 2021 and unanimously elected Usha Mohandas as party chairperson and M. V. Mani as working chairman.


References

{{Left Democratic Front (Kerala) Kerala Congress Parties Political parties in Kerala 1977 establishments in Kerala Political parties established in 1977