Close on the heels of a court order dismissing the petition to lift the stay on the election of Jose K. Mani as chairman of the Kerala Congress (M), the rival faction on Friday elected P.J. Joseph as its parliamentary party chairman.
The meeting, held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday evening, also selected C.F. Thomas as the deputy chairman and Mons Joseph as the party whip and secretary of the party on the floor. KC(M) legislators Roshy Augustine and N. Jayaraj skipped the meeting stating personal reasons.
Of the five legislators that the KC(M) currently has, the Joseph faction enjoys the support of three MLAs, including Mr. Thomas, Mr. Mons Joseph, where as Roshy Augustin and N. Jayaraj owe allegiance to Mr. Mani.
The faction led by Jose K. Mani, meanwhile, dismissed these appointments and said the meeting was convened unauthorisedly without the knowledge of all parliamentary party members of KC(M). “None of us, including the two MLAs and two Parliament members, were informed in advance about any such meeting.
That Mr. Joseph convened such a meeting despite the Kattappana court stating that he did not have the power to act as the party chairman, indeed called for action against contempt of court,” Mr. Mani said.
