Congress Prefers Jamaat-e-Islami in Kerala Local Body Polls, Allies Push Back

Kozhikode: In the ongoing local body elections, the Welfare Party, the political wing of the religious-nationalist Jamaat-e-Islami, has emerged as a highly favoured force within the UDF, receiving greater attention than the Kerala Congress (Joseph) faction. Although the Welfare Party is not officially part of the UDF, it was reportedly granted nearly all the seats it requested. By contrast, outside the districts of Kottayam and Idukki, the Kerala Congress (Joseph) faction was given less than half of the seats it had sought, leading to considerable resentment within the party.

This internal discontent has now translated into open rebellion. The Kerala Congress (Joseph) faction has chosen to contest against Congress in more than fifty constituencies. In Thiruvananthapuram Corporation alone, it is entering the race in five divisions using its own party symbol rather than the UDF’s designated symbols. Similar expressions of dissent are visible in other parts of the state as well. Across Alappuzha, Kollam, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Palakkad, and Wayanad, several candidates from the Joseph faction are standing outside the alliance framework. Reports indicate that this perceived sidelining by Congress has frustrated other UDF constituent parties too, who feel their influence has been diminished.

A notable example of the shifting internal dynamics is seen in Paravoor, the constituency of Opposition Leader V D Satheesan, where the Welfare Party was allocated more seats than the Indian Union Muslim League. This decision has effectively elevated the Welfare Party to the position of the second most prominent partner in that local alliance context.

For the current election cycle, the UDF has forged a direct understanding with Jamaat-e-Islami in as many as 300 panchayats. When accounting for candidates operating as independents or under non-partisan labels but backed indirectly by this arrangement, the total number of such candidates exceeds 500, demonstrating the scale of this strategic cooperation.