Thrissur: In a dramatic political development on Saturday, all eight Congress members in the Mattathur Panchayat in Thrissur quit the party en masse, joined hands with the BJP, and formed an alliance to assume power. Tessi Jose Kallarackal, who won as an independent candidate, became the panchayat president with the support of these members.

Tessi Jose won with 12 votes — eight from the former Congress members and three of the four BJP members. One BJP vote was declared invalid. Meanwhile, KR Ouseph, who had also won as an independent candidate, received the support of 10 LDF members.

The unexpected turn came at a time when the LDF was trying to secure power by aligning with an independent candidate who had contested as a Congress rebel. In their resignation letters, the members cited injustice by the party leadership toward the Mandalam Congress Committee and local party workers as the reason for their resignation.

Those who resigned from Congress are Minimol, Sreeja, Suma Antony, Akshay Santhosh, Printo Palliparamban, Siji Rajesh, Sibi Paulose, and Noorjahan Navas.

Mattathur Panchayat had been under LDF rule for 23 years. After the recent election, LDF won 10 seats, UDF eight, NDA four. While two Congress rebel candidates were expected to support the UDF, the count effectively reached 10–10. The situation appeared headed for a tie and a possible draw of lots.

As the stalemate continued, the UDF parliamentary party meeting chose K R Ouseph as parliamentary party leader and nominated him as the UDF candidate for the panchayat president. However, just before the election, Ouseph worked out an understanding with the LDF and joined hands with them.

The move triggered strong protests from Congress members, who accused Ouseph of betrayal. In response, the eight Congress members resigned and declared themselves independents. Subsequently, the four BJP members extended their support to the new bloc. With BJP backing, Tessi Jose — who had earlier won as a Congress rebel — was elected panchayat president.

CPM alleges BJP–Congress pact
CPM Mattathur Area Committee member Rajith alleged that the events in Mattathur were part of an “unholy alliance” between the Congress and the BJP. He argued that Congress district leaders and a BJP state leader camped in the panchayat on the day of the election and worked together.

The CPM leader alleged that both parties “hatched a conspiracy and undermined democracy.” He added that it was shocking that Congress allied while the RSS is targeting minorities across the country.