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 in 1979, after a split from the Kerala Congress by K. M. Mani. It joined Left Democratic Front (Kerala) in October 2020, after being expelled from United Democratic Front (Kerala) after a row for Kottayam District Panchayat Presidentship[4][5].

For other uses, see Kerala Congress (disambiguation).

Kerala Congress (M)
AbbreviationKC(M)
LeaderJose K. Mani [1]
Lok Sabha leaderThomas Chazhikadan
FounderK. M. Mani
Founded1979 (1979)
Split fromKerala Congress
HeadquartersState Committee Office, Near Fire Station, Kottayam, India.[2]
NewspaperPrathichaya weekly
Student wingKerala Students Congress (M)
Youth wingKerala Youth Front (M)
Women's wingKerala Vanitha Congress (M)
Labour wingKerala Trade Union Congress (M)
IdeologyWelfare of toiling class
ColoursWhite and Red
ECI StatusState Party[3]
Alliance
Seats in Lok Sabha
1 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
0 / 245
Seats in Kerala Legislative Assembly
2 / 140
Election symbol

The party has 2 MLAs in the Kerala Legislative Assembly and one MP; Thomas Chazhikadan in the Lok Sabha. It is also a part of UPA at the national level.[6]

History

Kerala Congress (M) was formed in 1979 after a split in Kerala Congress party.[6] After a series of splits and mergers, Kerala Congress faction of P. J. Joseph merged with KC(M). It split again with some leaders including Francis George, Dr. K. C. Joseph, Antony Raju, P. C. Joseph resigned from Kerala Congress (M) and formed Janadhipathya Kerala Congress in 2016. Kerala Congress (M) quit from UDF in 2016[7]citing issues with in UDF and later rejoined it in June 2018 after reconciliation. A further split happened after the death of party chairman K. M. Mani resulting in the ouster of the faction led by P. J. Joseph.

2011
MinisterMinistry
K. M. ManiMinister for Finance, State Treasury, Taxes & Duties, Law and Housing (May 2011-November 2015)
P. J. JosephMinister for Water Resources, Irrigation and Inland Navigation
Thomas UnniyadanChief Whip (June–November 2015)
2001
MinisterMinistry
K. M. ManiMinister for Law & Revenue
C. F. ThomasMinister for Rural Development
1991
MinisterMinistry
K. M. ManiMinister for Law & Revenue
Narayana KurupDeputy Speaker

Split

After the death of Kerala Congress (M) chairman K.M Mani, working chairman P. J. Joseph who merged with Kerala Congress (M) in 2010 tried to take over the party and denied the possibility of election for the position of chairman citing a supposed consensus. Majority of the party was against this hostile takeover and they convened a state committee meeting to elect Jose K. Mani as chairman. This was challenged by P. J. Joseph in court and he was granted an interim stay order from lower court. The majority faction now led by Jose K. Mani approached Election Commission of India for relief in November 2019. The commission held numerous hearings and finally passed a majority verdict recognizing faction led by Jose K. Mani as the original Kerala Congress (M). This was based on the overwhelming majority Jose K. Mani faction had in the party's organizational and legislature wing.

Fate
  • United Democratic Front Convenor Benny Behanan M.P. announced that after the meeting that the Jose K Mani faction was expelled from United Democratic Front (UDF) as a result of a row in Kottayam district panchayat[8][4].

Main leaders

The following are the main leaders of the party:

References
  1. https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2020/11/20/kerala-congress-m-jose-k-mani-faction-gets-two-leaves-symbol.amp.html
  2. "List of Political Parties and Election Symbols main Notification Dated 17.09.2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2012.
  3. "List of Political Parties and Election Symbols main Notification Dated 18.01.2013" (PDF). India: Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  4. "UDF expels Kerala Congress faction led by Jose K Mani". Deccan Herald. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  5. "Kerala Congress (M) Jose K Mani faction joins LDF". The News Minute. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  6. "Kerala Congress (M) (KEC(M))". Elections.in. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  7. "Kerala Congress (Mani) ends 35-year alliance with United Democratic Front". scroll.in. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  8. "Explained: Why has Kerala Congress (M) decided to switch to the LDF?". The Indian Express. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  • G. Gopa Kumar. “Kerala: Verdict against Non-Performance and Congress Factionalism.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 39, no. 51, 2004, pp. 5498–5501. JSTOR 4415940.
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