Kerala Congress
|
|
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Leader | K. M. Mani |
Chairperson | P. J. Joseph Working Chairman |
Lok Sabha leader | Jose K. Mani |
Rajya Sabha leader | Joy Abraham |
Founder | K. M. Mani |
Founded | 9 October 1964 |
Headquarters | State Committee Office, Near Star Theatre Junction, Kottayam South, Kerala. |
Newspaper | Pratichaya |
Student wing | Kerala Students Congress [KSC] |
Youth wing | Kerala Youth Front [KYF] |
Labour wing | KTUC |
Ideology | Secular Democracy Toiling Class Theory |
Colours | Half white and half red |
Alliance | United Progressive Alliance |
Seats in Lok Sabha |
1 / 545
|
Seats in Rajya Sabha |
1 / 245
|
Election symbol | |
Website | |
http://pratichaya.com/ | |
The Kerala Congress is a regional political party in the state of Kerala, India. The mass base of the party predominantly consists of Christians from Kottayam and Idukki districts of Kerala. Presently, the Kerala Congress(M) is the third largest party after the Congress and IUML, in the alliance of United Democratic Front (UDF). The party has 9 MLAs in the current Kerala Legislative Assembly, and one Member of Parliament each, in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Chairman of the united Kerala Congress(M) is K. M. Mani, former Minister of Finance in the UDF-led Kerala government, who resigned in disgrace in November 2015 after he was accused of wrongdoing in the infamous bar bribery case. The party has its roots in the erstwhile Travancore region and is traditionally dominated by the farmers, mostly the Saint Thomas Christians.
The Kerala Congress has suffered severe divisions and several factions (called groups) have emerged, all claiming the name 'Kerala Congress' in various times in its history. Factions included the parent under P. J. Joseph, Kerala Congress (Mani) under K. M. Mani, Kerala Congress (Balakrishna Pillai) under R. Balakrishna Pillai, and Kerala Congress (Jacob) under Johnny Nellore. The group that had retained the official recognition by the Election Commission of India to the name 'Kerala Congress' was the one led by P. J. Joseph (which is informally called the Joseph group) until 2010.