The defeat in Pala has pushed Kerala Congress (M) into one of the biggest crises in the state's history and placed party chairman Jose K Mani under intense pressure.
The party largely captures the Christian voters in the central belt of Kerala. With this unprecedented loss, it now faces the danger of extinction and could thereby become advantageous to the NDA, as the saffron party is making deep inroads into the influential Christian vote bank.
For the uninitiated, Kerala Congress (M) is one of Kerala's most influential regional parties, rooted largely in the Christian farming communities of Central Travancore, especially in Kottayam, Pala, Idukki and Pathanamthitta. The party emerged from repeated splits within the original Kerala Congress, which was formed in 1964 to represent the interests of farmers, plantation owners and Syrian Christian communities.
The "M" in Kerala Congress (M) stands for KM Mani, the leader who built the faction into a powerful force in Kerala politics.
For decades, the party played the role of kingmaker, shifting between alliances while retaining a loyal base in Central Kerala.
After KM Mani's death in 2019, his son, Jose K Mani, took charge of the party and later shifted it from the Congress-led UDF to the CPI(M)-led LDF, a move that still divides opinion within the party and among its traditional supporters.
That political gamble now appears to have backfired badly.
For the second straight Assembly election, the party failed to reclaim Pala, the constituency KM Mani represented for more than five decades.
This time, the sitting MLA, Mani C Kappan, defeated Jose K Mani by nearly 3,000 votes.
The setback has triggered open dissent within the party, with leaders questioning both Jose K Mani's leadership and the decision to align with the Left Democratic Front.
The crisis deepened after Kerala Congress (M) failed to win even a single seat out of the 12 constituencies it contested under the LDF banner. Ministers and senior leaders from the party also suffered defeats, reducing the once-influential regional party to zero representation in the Assembly.
Inside the party, many leaders now openly admit that the results have damaged morale among cadres. Several leaders believe the party has steadily lost its independent political identity after joining the LDF.
The contrast with the faction led by PJ Joseph has added to the embarrassment. While Jose K Mani's faction failed to open its account, the PJ Joseph-led faction won 7 out of the 8 seats it contested under the UDF banner.
That comparison has strengthened criticism against the current leadership.
State committee member Jayakrishnan Puthiyedath publicly blamed senior leader Roshy Augustine for the party's decline and accused the leadership of missing opportunities to return to the UDF. His remarks exposed growing unrest inside the organisation after the election debacle.
Leaders within the party also point to strained relations with sections of the Christian Church leadership. Though Kerala Congress (M) traditionally enjoyed strong support among influential church groups in Central Travancore, that backing failed to translate into electoral gains this time.
The party also struggled to maintain smooth relations with CPI(M) workers at the grassroots after joining the LDF. Local-level tensions surfaced repeatedly in Pala and nearby regions. Leaders privately admit that the alliance never fully integrated on the ground.
The defeat in Pala carries symbolic weight for the party. KM Mani won from the constituency 13 times and built Kerala Congress (M) into a dominant political force from there. Since his death in 2019, however, the party has steadily weakened in its traditional stronghold.
The 2019 bypoll marked the first major setback when divisions within both the party and the front helped Mani C Kappan win as the LDF candidate. In 2021, after Jose K Mani shifted to the LDF and Kappan moved to the UDF, the party expected a recovery in Pala. That did not happen.
This election dealt another blow as BJP candidate Shone George sharply increased the party's vote share. The BJP's vote rose from around 10,000 in 2021 to more than 34,000 this election, hurting Kerala Congress (M)'s prospects further.
Political observers say the result has now raised larger questions about the future direction of Kerala Congress (M). Many within the party believe it must urgently decide whether to continue in the LDF or attempt a return to the UDF before the next election cycle.
