Will KC(M) Split Again? Leaders at Loggerheads Over Seat Sharing

Reports say that Joseph met CM Chandy and informed that his faction would remain in UDF as a separate constituent.

K M Mani and PJ Joseph. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Split and merger has been a routing process for Kerala Congress over the years. It was in 2010 that the KM Mani group and PJ Joseph group merged.

Now reports state that there is a chance of a split in Kerala Congress (Mani group) following disagreements between Mani and Joseph over seat sharing.

The Times of India reports that water resources minister PJ Joseph, who is unhappy with the way KM Mani was refusing tickets to leaders of his faction in the assembly election, has expressed his displeasure.

There are also reports that Joseph met Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and informed him that his group would remain in UDF as a separate faction. But he later denied that he had met the CM for this purpose.

The Times of India reports that the differences in the KC(M) came to the fore when KM Mani conveyed that the party wouldn’t give seats to the sitting MLAs Mons Joseph and TU Kuruvila of the PJ Joseph faction and also to KC Joseph who contested from Kuttanadu last time, while Joseph wants tickets for Antony Raju and Francis George to contest this time.

As per the reports, Mani’s name on the sign board of Kerala Congress (M)‘s Kanjirappally office was also removed on Wednesday.