Kerala Assembly polls 2026: Congress leader announces to contest as rebel in K.C. Venugopal’s home turf

A district Congress leader on Wednesday revolted in AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal’s home turf, Alappuzha, over the party’s candidates’ list for the upcoming Assembly polls and announced that he will contest as an Independent in the Kuttanad constituency.

Mr. Venugopal represents the Alappuzha constituency in the Lok Sabha. As the grand-old party is busy finalising its candidates list for the April 9 polls, its DCC vice-president Saji Joseph on Wednesday resigned from the party in this coastal district and announced he would contest as an Independent from the Kuttanad Assembly constituency.

The leadership’s decision to give the Kuttanad seat to a United Democratic Front  ally, Kerala Congress (Joseph) faction, against the reported request of the local Congress leaders and workers, irked Mr. Joseph and those who supported him.

Addressing a press conference here, he said there had been persistent demands within the Congress here to reclaim the Kuttanad seat and field a party candidate there.

Declaring himself a rebel candidate, Mr. Joseph said he would take on the official UDF nominee in the upcoming polls as a mark of protest.

The press conference also witnessed emotional scenes as the leader broke down while speaking about his long association with the Congress, stating that he had been part of the movement “since birth” and had made significant sacrifices for the party.

He maintained that he had never shied away from agitations, including police action during protests.

However, Mr. Joseph said his decision to contest was driven by the need to protect the “self-respect” of the people of Kuttanad.

Calling it a fight against “two major financial forces,” Mr. Joseph admitted that he faced serious financial constraints in mounting his campaign but expressed confidence in securing a decisive victory.

He further claimed that several party workers and leaders would quit the Congress and join him in his campaign. Ruling out any possibility of withdrawing from the contest, Mr. Joseph also expressed sadness over leaving the Grand Old Party.