Kerala Congress is an Indian political party founded at

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

in October, 1964, by a block of former

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

leaders led by

K. M. George K. M. George may refer to: * K. M. George (politician), political leader and founder of Kerala Congress * K. M. George (writer) Karimpumannil Mathai George (1914–2002), popularly known as Dr. K. M. George, was an eminent Malayalam writer and ...

. The party is primarily active in central Kerala. The establishment of Kerala Congress could be traced to resignation and later death of

P. T. Chacko Pulloli Thomas Chacko (9 April 1915 – 31 July 1964), was an Indian politician from Kottayam in central Kerala. A member of the Travancore and Travancore-Cochin Assemblies and the Constituent Assembly, Chacko served as the first Leader of Opp ...

, the Home Minister in the

R. Sankar R. Sankar (30 April 1909 – 7 November 1972) was an Indian politician who was the third Chief Minister of Kerala from 1962 to 1964. He was also the Deputy Chief Minister of the State from 1960 to 1962. Sankar apart from as a politician is kn ...

-led Congress ministry (1962–64). Fifteen rebel Congress

Members of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

subsequently supported a successful

no confidence motion A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

on the Sankar ministry.

and

R. Balakrishna Pillai Keezhoote Raman Balakrishna Pillai (8 March 1935 – 3 May 2021) was an Indian politician who served as minister of the state of Kerala in India, holding portfolios such as Transport and Electricity. He was a member of the Kerala Legislative A ...

, backed by the Catholic Church and the

Nair Service Society The Nair Service Society (NSS) is an organisation created for the social advancement and welfare of the Nair community that is found primarily in the state of Kerala in Southern part of India. It was established under the leadership of Mannathu ...

leader

Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai Mannathu Padmanabhan (2 January 1878 – 25 February 1970) was an Indian social reformer and freedom fighter from the south-western state of Kerala. He is recognised as the founder of the Nair Service Society (NSS), which represents the Na ...

, formed "Kerala Congress" at Kottayam on 9 October 1964.

History

* "Kerala Congress" was formed as a breakaway faction from

in 1964 (led by

and

). The party won 26 seats in the 1965 Kerala Assembly election. * George and Pillai were arrested and imprisoned during the

National Emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

. * Kerala Congress joined the

C. Achutha Menon Chelat Achutha Menon (13 January 1913 – 16 August 1991) was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. He was instrumental in ...

-led Kerala ministry in 1975 (

and

K. M. Mani Karingozhackal Mani Mani (30 January 1933 – 9 April 2019) was an Indian politician and the chairman of Kerala Congress (M), one of the main factions of Kerala Congress, a party born in the Travancore or Central South Kerala region which foc ...

as ministers).

was later replaced by

(died 1976). *

Kerala Congress (B) 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 ...

, led by

and later with the Left alliance, was formed in 1977. *

, with the Congress alliance, served as the Home Minister in the later

K. Karunakaran Kannoth Karunakaran (5 July 1918 – 23 December 2010) was an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress (INC). He served as the Chief Minister of Kerala four times during the late 1970s through the mid 1990s. He is the ...

and A. K. Antony led ministries (replaced in between by

P. J. Joseph Palathinal Joseph Joseph (born 10 June 1941) is an Indian politician from Kerala Congress serving as the Member of the Legislative Assembly from Thodupuzha Assembly Constituency in Kerala. A former cabinet minister, Joseph entered Kerala poli ...

). *

Kerala Congress (Mani) Kerala Congress (M) is a state-level political party in the Indian state of Kerala, currently led by chairman Jose K. Mani. It was formed by K. M. Mani in 1979, after a split from the Kerala Congress. They are part of the Left Democratic Fron ...

was formed from Kerala Congress in 1979.

Kerala Congress (P.J Joseph Era) (1979-2010)

However Splinter fractions of

and

Merged with parent Kerala Congress Led By

On 1985. But these parties again split in 1987 by K, M Mani, after the split 1987 there is a big legal battle for the name and symbol between

P.J Joseph Palathinal Joseph Joseph (born 10 June 1941) is an Indian politician from Kerala Congress serving as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of the Legislative Assembly from Thodupuzha (State Assembly constituency), Thodupuzha Ass ...

and K.M Mani and the court was ruled in favor of PJ Joseph. In 1989 R Balakrishnan Pillai also left Parent Kerala Congress. P.J Joseph was minister several times Until 2010 representing Kerala Congress

Merger With Kerala Congress (M) And Dissolved (2010-2015)

In 2010 One of the founder's son P. C. Thomas Joined Party. He was

Kerala Congress (M) Kerala Congress (M) is a state-level political party in the Indian state of Kerala, currently led by chairman Jose K. Mani. It was formed by K. M. Mani in 1979, after a split from the Kerala Congress. They are part of the Left Democratic Front ...

member until 2001 later formed his own party called IFDP. Later that year

Kerala Congress Kerala Congress is an Indian political party founded at Kottayam, Kerala in October, 1964, by a block of former Indian National Congress leaders led by K. M. George. The party is primarily active in central Kerala. The establishment of Kerala ...

and

decide to merge into one party. P. C. Thomas did not support this merger and made his own fraction called

Kerala Congress (Anti-merger Group) Kerala Congress (Anti-merger Group) was a faction of Kerala Congress led by Skaria Thomas in Kerala. Kerala Congress (Anti-merger Group) was formerly a part of Left Democratic Front (LDF). History In April 2010 the Kerala Congress (M) and Kera ...

. Eventually, the Kerala Election commission freezes party Name & symbol. which dissolved Kerala Congress.

Revival of Kerala Congress (2016-Present)

Alliance with NDA (P.C Thomas Era (2016-2021))

P.C Thomas was a chairman of

. since 2014 a power struggle erupted on that party . on 2015 Thomas left

and form Kerala Congress (Thomas) but

Left Democratic Front (Kerala) 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 ...

did not approve this split. and kicked out Thomas from their alliance. In 2015 August, the Kerala Congress faction led by P. C. Thomas join the Kerala unit of the

Bharatiya Janata Party 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 Modi ...

-led

National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing and Conservatism, conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was foun ...

(NDA). In 2016, After a long legal battle P. C. Thomas Received approval to use the name as bracket less Kerala Congress party. So Thomas dissolved Kerala Congress (Thomas) and revived Kerala Congress PC Thomas contested from Kottayam (Lok Sabha constituency) for NDA on

2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and voter ...

In October 2020, it was reported that P. C. Thomas was leaving NDA and was likely to join the United Democratic Front (UDF). The party however decided to stay in the NDA and extended their support to NDA candidates in the

2020 Kerala local elections Elections to local bodies (Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations) in Kerala were held in December 2020. The polling was held in three stages; on 8, 10 and 14 December, with the votes counted and results announced on 16 December. The Left ...

Kerala Congress (P.J Joseph Era 2.0) (2021- Present)

Since 2016 to 2021 Kerala Congress was in an alliance with

(NDA) On 2021 March 17 the party left the

(NDA) later

Kerala Congress (Joseph) Kerala Congress (Joseph) or Kerala Congress or Joseph Group is a political party in the Indian state of Kerala. It was formed in 1964. Kerala Congress (Joseph) was the brakeless fraction of Kerala Congress Party By election commission (1964-201 ...

, which is part of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) merged into bracket less Kerala Congress. which Makes

as Kerala Congress Party Chairman Again

2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election

After the merger with Kerala Congress,

PJ Joseph Palathinal Joseph Joseph (born 10 June 1941) is an Indian politician from Kerala Congress serving as the Member of the Legislative Assembly from Thodupuzha Assembly Constituency in Kerala. A former cabinet minister, Joseph entered Kerala polit ...

and

Mons Joseph Mons Joseph (born 30 May 1964) is an Indian politician and lawyer. He belongs to Kerala Congress led by P. J. Joseph. He had been the Minister for Public Works from 18 October 2007 till his resignation for his party chairman P. J. Joseph to ...

resigned from MLA post to avoid the technicalities regarding the Anti-Defection Law as they had won the assembly election in 2016 in Kerala Congress (M) tickets However, 8 out of 10 candidates of Kerala Congress lost in elections, only

and

were re-elected to the legislative assembly from

Thodupuzha Thodupuzha (തൊടുപുഴ) is a municipal town located in Idukki district, Kerala, India, that covers an area of . It lies on the banks of Thodupuzha river, which merges with the Kaliyar and Kothamangalam rivers at Muvattupuzha to for ...

and

Kaduthuruthy Kaduthuruthy is a town in Kottayam District in the state of Kerala, India. Geography Kaduturuthy has an average elevation of . Its name derives from ''Kadal thuruth'', meaning near to the beach as it is believed that several centuries ago, ...

respectively.

Party Organisation

Leadership

On April 27 a meeting convened online by the party leadership in Thodupuzha and chooses P.J Joseph as party chairman and PC Thomas as working chairman., Mons Joseph has been elected as the executive chairman., Francis George Johnny Nelloor and Thomas unniyadan as deputy chairman, while Joy Abraham is the secretary-general.

Notable leaders of Kerala Congress

* Mathachan Kuruvinakunnel *

R Balakrishna Pillai R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars'', or in Irela ...

* E John Jacob *

K R Saraswathy Amma K, or k, is the eleventh letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''kay'' (pronounced ), plural ''kays''. The letter K ...

* Vayala Idikula *

* P. C. Thomas *

* C. F. Thomas *

Francis George Francis Eugene George (January 16, 1937 – April 17, 2015) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Chicago in Illinois (1997–2014) and previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Yakima and ...

Johnny Nellore Johnny Nellore (born 19 August 1951) is an Indian politician who is the Deputy chairman of Kerala Congress and ex-Chairman of the KC (Jacob). He is an advocate in Muvattupuzha Bar Association. He was elected to Kerala Legislative Assembly i ...

Thomas Unniyadan Thomas Unniyadan is a politician, former MLA and former Government Chief Whip of the Govt. of Kerala. He is at present the Deputy Chairman of Kerala Congress. He was a member of Kerala legislative assembly from Irinjalakuda from 2001 to 2016 ...

* Joy Abraham

References

External links

{{Indian political parties

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 a ...

Political parties established in 1964 1964 establishments in Kerala