Kerala CM Accuses Congress Of Aiding BJP After Mattathur Panchayat Upheaval

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday accused the Congress of aiding the BJP’s rise in the state, referring to recent political events in Mattathur panchayat in Thrissur district.

In Mattathur, eight Congress councillors quit the party and aligned with the BJP to back an independent candidate for the post of panchayat president, a move that stopped the LDF from retaining control of the local body.

In the panchayat election, the ruling LDF emerged as the single largest front with 10 seats, while the Congress won 8 and the BJP secured 4.

Two others, including Congress rebel K R Ouseph, were also elected. When voting for the panchayat president took place on Saturday, Ouseph chose to support the LDF.

Following this, the eight Congress councillors resigned from the party and, along with the BJP, extended support to independent candidate Tessi Jose for the president’s post.

This 'alliance' of the resigned Congress councillors and the BJP won the election.

Later, however, the councillors maintained that they had not joined the BJP. At the same time, the Congress’s Thrissur District Congress Committee issued suspension orders against the councillors, including Ouseph.

In a Facebook post, Vijayan said the Congress was a party perpetually looking for a chance to make a “single jump” into the BJP, and claimed that such a jump was clearly visible in Mattathur.

He alleged that all Congress members elected to the panchayat defected to the BJP, allowing it to capture power.

“Only eight Congress members were left in the UDF there. The BJP swallowed them whole, leaving not even one behind,” he said, adding that such a political development had never been seen before in Kerala.

Vijayan drew comparisons with other states, recalling that in 2016, 43 of 44 Congress MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh, including the Chief Minister, defected overnight to the NDA.

He also cited Puducherry, where the BJP formed the government in 2021 despite having no MLAs, and Goa, where the entire Congress legislature party merged with the BJP in 2019.

The Chief Minister alleged that Congress leaders collaborated with the BJP in Mattathur to block an LDF candidate from becoming panchayat president.

“What is being proven here is that those who remain in the Congress today will not hesitate to become BJP overnight. Congress leaders feel no moral conflict in replacing the hand symbol with the lotus,” he said.

He further claimed that BJP–Congress understandings were visible in several parts of the state, as reflected in the local body election results.

“The Mattathur model is the latest chapter in that strategy,” he said.

In a post on X, Vijayan said the developments in Mattathur Panchayat revealed a disturbing pattern, with Congress members joining hands with the BJP to grab power.

“This politics of turncoats directly strengthens the Sangh Parivar’s project by normalising defections and eroding democratic mandates. Such conduct, seen earlier in Arunachal, Goa and Puducherry, fuels the BJP’s ambitions in Kerala. The Congress leadership must respond clearly to this dangerous drift,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, Kerala Assembly Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan rejected the claim that Congress members had defected to the BJP in Mattathur panchayat.

He said the CPI(M) was highlighting the Mattathur episode because it lacked other issues to raise.

"In Mattathur, when the CPI(M) attempted to install an independent councillor as panchayat president, Congress councillors supported another independent candidate," he said.

He added that the councillors were suspended for defying the party line. "They have not switched to the BJP," he said.

Satheesan also criticised Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, accusing him of being aligned with the BJP.

"He will sign wherever Narendra Modi asks him to. Such a person is now ridiculing us," he said.

(with PTI inputs)