Kerala Assembly polls: KPCC cracks the whip on premature candidate declarations by leaders

The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) cracked the whip on party leaders jumping the gun on candidate selection for the State Assembly elections.

In a terse statement, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said public declarations of candidature and premature proclamations on coalition seat-sharing would invite disciplinary action. 

Mr. Joseph’s ultimatum assumed political significance against the backdrop of former KPCC president K. Sudhakaran “declaring” his candidature from Kannur on Monday, allegedly putting himself ahead of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), which is reportedly grappling with the vexed question of whether to allow sitting MPs to contest in the Assembly elections.

Mr. Sudhakaran had caused a stir by insisting that he would contest from Kannur. “110%, I will fight the Assembly elections from Kannur. Let the Central Election Screening Committee’s decision come,” he had said.

Fears of factionalism

A Congress insider said the KPCC could ill afford to turn a blind eye to premature declarations of candidacy, bypassing the party’s screening process.

He said the KPCC feared that such explicit assertions risked opening a Pandora’s box of factionalism and one-upmanship, undermining efforts to present a united face at the hustings and potentially rendering the party vulnerable to outside pressure, including from caste and religious lobbyists.

‘Poster war’ in Thiruvananthapuram

KPCC sources said the intra-party ‘poster war’ over the Thiruvananthapuram Assembly seat had also upset the party leadership, forcing Mr. Joseph to nip the “self-defeating organisational drift” in the bud.

Several posters had appeared in Thiruvananthapuram denouncing Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan’s alleged move to give the seat to Communist Marxist Party (CMP) general secretary C.P. John, supposedly to sideline Congress leader and former Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar. Both leaders have since denied any role in the matter. 

Mr. Joseph pointedly underscored that Congress candidate selection and coalition seat-sharing were “the sole preserve” of the KPCC.

He said that prejudicing the process through suo-motu pronouncements of candidature or seat-sharing arrangements did not augur well for the party, and “did not befit leaders or provincial party units.”

Nevertheless, Mr. Joseph said leaders and party workers were “free to put their suggestions” on the record in party fora. “Leaders should not declare their candidacy by passing the High Command, which makes the final call”, he said.

Mr. Joseph also warned against “meetings outside the KPCC’s organisational ambit” on issues concerning candidate selection.