Union of Mani and Joseph Groups in 2010
In an important development in the politics of Kerala, P. J. Joseph announced on 30 April 2010 the intention of his group to leave the Left Democratic Front (LDF), of which his group had been a constituent for two decades, and merge with the group led by K. M. Mani. K. M. Mani reciprocated shortly thereafter, welcoming the exit of the Joseph group from the LDF. This reunited the two factions which had split in 1979 to form a single Kerala Congress, and made it the largest constituent of the United Democratic Front (UDF) after the Indian National Congress.
Chairman: K. M. Mani MLA
Working Chairman: P. J. Joseph MLA
Deputy Chairman: C. F. Thomas MLA
Vice Chairman: P. C. George MLA
During the 2011 Kerala Assembly elections, both P. J. Joseph and P. C. Thomas claimed the party symbol Bicycle and party name Kerala Congress. Registration of the name Kerala Congress was temporarily frozen by the election commission as the arguments were inconclusive. The Joseph group which united with the Mani group was asked to adopt the name of Kerala Congress (M) and its symbol Two leaves. The Thomas group was allotted the name Kerala Congress (Anti-merger Group) and the symbol Chair.
Read more about this topic: Kerala Congress
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