Cong leaders resign in Alappuzha as Kuttanad seat goes to Kerala Congress (J)
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.Around ten Congress leaders, including senior District Congress Committee office-bearers, quit their party posts in Alappuzha's Kuttanad region on Wednesday, March 18 over candidate selection disputes ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections.Senior Congress leaders include Saji Joseph, DCC vice-president and K Gopakumar, DCC General Secretary. The resignations were over the allocation of the Kuttanad seat to Kerala Congress (Joseph), a coalition partner in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Local Congress workers preferred a native Congress candidate to contest the seat. Currently, Reji Cheriyan is the UDF candidate for Kuttanad.Saji Joseph has announced his candidature as an independent candidate from the Kuttanad constituency. Speaking to mediapersons on March 18, Saji Joseph said, “Since the day I was born, this has been the party I have seen. Now it's deeply painful to change, because I have stood with it, enduring so much.”Stating that he won’t blame the party leaders even if he has to leave the party, Saji Joseph said the self-respect of the people of Kuttanad must be protected.From 1977 to 2001, Kuttanad was a constituency where Kerala Congress contested and won. In 2006 the seat was given to Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) and they won the election. After 2011 it was taken over by the Congress.The Kerala Congress (Joseph) was established in 1979 when PJ Joseph walked out of the parent Kerala Congress due to differences with KM Mani. From 1979 to 1989, this faction allied with the UDF. They switched allegiance to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in 1991 but returned to the UDF in 2010.
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
AROUND 10 Congress leaders, including senior District Congress Committee office-bearers, quit their party posts in Alappuzha's Kuttanad region on Wednesday, March 18, over candidate selection disputes ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections.
Senior Congress leaders include Saji Joseph, DCC vice-president and K Gopakumar, DCC General Secretary.
The resignations were over the allocation of the Kuttanad seat to Kerala Congress (Joseph), a coalition partner in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Local Congress workers preferred a native Congress candidate to contest the seat. Currently, Reji Cheriyan is the UDF candidate for Kuttanad.
Saji Joseph has announced his candidacy as an independent candidate from the Kuttanad constituency. Speaking to mediapersons on March 18, Saji Joseph said, “Since the day I was born, this has been the party I have seen. Now it's deeply painful to change because I have stood with it, enduring so much.”
Stating that he won’t blame the party leaders even if he has to leave the party, Saji Joseph said the self-respect of the people of Kuttanad must be protected.
From 1977 to 2001, Kuttanad was a constituency where the Kerala Congress contested and won. In 2006, the seat was given to the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) and they won the election. After 2011, it was taken over by Congress.
The Kerala Congress (Joseph) was established in 1979 when PJ Joseph walked out of the parent Kerala Congress due to differences with KM Mani. From 1979 to 1989, this faction allied with the UDF. They switched allegiance to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in 1991 but returned to the UDF in 2010.
