Congress picks V.K. Minimol, Shiny Mathew for split mayoral term in Kochi Corpn.

Ending days of speculation, the Ernakulam District Congress Committee (DCC) on Tuesday (December 23, 2025) evening announced four-time councillor V.K. Minimol as its mayoral candidate for the first two-and-a-half years, followed by Shiny Mathew for the remainder of the term.

Similarly, the Deputy Mayor’s post will be shared between Deepak Joy, a two-time councillor and Youth Congress all-India coordinator, and K.V.P. Krishnakumar. The decision came as a major setback to two-time councillor and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary Deepthy Mary Varghese, who had been widely considered the frontrunner for the Mayor’s post.

Signs of the outcome were evident at the Congress councillors’ meeting held on Monday (December 22, 2025) evening, where Ms. Varghese, identified with the K.C. Venugopal faction, reportedly received little support. At least 17 councillors from the ‘I’ group reportedly backed Ms. Minimol, while Shiny Mathew secured the support of not less than 20 ‘A’ group councillors, leaving Ms. Varghese sidelined.

Announcing the party’s candidates for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor elections scheduled for December 26, DCC president Mohammed Shiyas said the decision was taken after considering all relevant factors. He noted that split terms to accommodate senior leaders were not new and had been followed by the party in local bodies before. Highlighting Ms. Minimol’s extensive experience as a four-time councillor, Mr. Shiyas said the chosen candidates were capable of advancing the city’s development and welfare initiatives.

Speaking to the media later, Ms. Minimol, who is also the State vice president of the Mahila Congress, pledged to deliver governance in line with the people’s expectations. She attributed her selection to recognition by the party leadership, which, she said, probably considered her multiple terms as councillor among other factors. She avoided commenting on Ms. Varghese being overlooked for the Mayor’s post, allegedly in violation of a KPCC circular, stating that everyone would abide by the party’s decision.

On the issue of split terms, she remarked that what matters is not the length of time but how effectively it is used. She expressed confidence that her prior experience as chairperson of the health and works standing committees would enable her to provide effective governance.

Reports suggest that Ms. Mathew, apart from being a prominent face from Kochi, also benefited from support from the Latin Catholic community, which openly campaigned for her. She had previously been in contention for the Mayor’s post but lost out to Soumini Jain when the UDF last came to power in 2015.