Kerala Congress (M) is a state-level political party in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n state of
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 ...
, 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
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 ...
since October 2020.
History
Kerala Congress (M) was formed in 1979 after a split in
Kerala Congress party.
After a series of splits and mergers, Kerala Congress faction of P. J. Joseph merged with Kerala Congress(M). It split again when some leaders including Francis George, Dr. K. C. Joseph, Antony Raju and P. C. Joseph resigned from Kerala Congress (M) and formed the
Janadhipathya Kerala Congress
Janadhipathya Kerala Congress is a political party in Kerala. It was formed on 9 March 2016, through a split from the Kerala Congress (M) History
On 2016 before Kerala Assembly elections a fight occurs in Kerala Congress (M) about seats and whe ...
in 2016. Kerala Congress (M) quit the
United Democratic Front (UDF) in 2016 citing issues with in the UDF, and rejoined it in June 2018 after reconciliation.
Split
A power struggle erupted in the party after the death of Kerala Congress (M) chairman
K. M. Mani. One faction was led by his son
Jose K. Mani and another was led by senior leader
P. J. Joseph. The Election Commission intervened and it ruled in favor of
Jose K Mani. The commission passed a verdict recognizing the faction led by
Jose K. Mani as the Kerala Congress (M). This was challenged by
P. J. Joseph in court and he was granted an interim stay order. The Jose faction approached the
Supreme Court of India and it agreed with the Election Commission's verdict.
UDF Convener
Benny Behanan
Benny Behanan (born 22 August 1952) is an Indian politician from Kerala. He is a member of the Indian National Congress party who serves as Member of Parliament from Chalakudy (Lok Sabha constituency). He was the MLA of Thrikkakara Legislative ...
met with Jose K Mani and following the meeting, he announced that the Jose faction was expelled from UDF as a result of a dispute in Kottayam district panchayat.
Later Kerala Congress (M) joined
LDF.
Ministers from the Kerala Congress (M) faction
With Left Democratic Front (Kerala) (2020-Present)
Kerala Congress (M) joined hands with
LDF for 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 ...
held in December and also for 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 ...
. However KEC(M) allegedly allowed a CPI(M) party member to contest as a KEC(M) candidate from
Piravom (State Assembly constituency)
Piravom State assembly constituency is one of the 140 state legislative assembly constituencies in Kerala state in southern India. It is also one of the 7 state legislative assembly constituencies included in the Kottayam Lok Sabha constit ...
.
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 ...
, KEC(M) contested 12 seats and won 5 of them. However, KEC(M) chairman Jose K. Mani lost from
Pala (State Assembly constituency)
Pala State assembly constituency is one of the 140 state legislative assembly constituencies in Kerala state in southern India. It is also one of the 7 state legislative assembly constituencies included in the Kottayam Lok Sabha constituenc ...
to incumbent MLA
Mani C. Kappan
Mani C. Kappan (born 1956) is an Indian politician, film producer, film director and actor. He is the current Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the state of Kerala for the Pala constituency.
Mani C. Kappan defeated Jose Tom Pulikkunn ...
of the
Nationalist Congress Kerala for 15,378 votes. The loss of this seat is a considered a major setback for Jose K. Mani, as Pala was the original constituency represented by his late father,
K. M. Mani, for 49 years from 1967 to 2016.
Ministers Of the Kerala Congress (M) faction With LDF
On 18 May 2021, the
Left Democratic Front (Kerala) and KEC (M) declared that
Kanjirappally (State Assembly constituency) MLA
N. Jayaraj
Dr. Narayana Kurup Jayaraj (Malayalam: എന്. ജയരാജ്) (born 1 January 1956) is an Indian politician and is the current Chief Whip and MLA representing Kerala Congress (M), KCM. Son of Shri K. Narayana Kurup and Smt. K ...
is to be the chief whip of the alliance.
Idukki (State Assembly constituency) MLA
Roshy Augustine
Roshy Augustine (born 20 January 1969) is an Indian politician serving as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A.) of the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Idukki since 2001. He is part of the Kerala Congress (M) party and is the curren ...
is set to become a minister.
Party Organisation
Jose K. Mani is the Chairman of the party since 2020.
Other Notable leaders
*
K.M Mani, founder
*
K. Narayana Kurup
*
Mammen Mathai
References
*G. Gopa Kumar. “Kerala: Verdict against Non-Performance and Congress Factionalism.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 39, no. 51, 2004, pp. 5498–5501. .
{{United Progressive Alliance , state=collapsed
Member parties of the United Progressive Alliance
Political parties in Kerala
State political parties in Kerala
Kerala Congress Parties
Recognised state political parties in India
Political parties established in 1979
1979 establishments in Kerala