Kerala NCP splits as rebel Saseendran-Thomas faction defies leadership, announces new party

Kochi: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Kerala formally split on Friday after a powerful rebel faction led by former minister A K Saseendran and former Kuttanad MLA Thomas K Thomas defied directives from the party's newly appointed state leadership, convened a parallel state-level meeting and announced plans to launch a new political party on June 20.

The faction, which has adopted the name NCP (Secular) or NCP-S during the transition period, declared that it was severing ties with the national leadership while remaining firmly within the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

The split comes amid growing discontent over the national leadership's political positions and a bitter internal power struggle that intensified after the party's dismal performance in the May 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, where the NCP failed to win a single seat. Even Saseendran and Thomas lost the polls.

Addressing the media after the meeting in Kochi on Friday, Thomas accused the national leadership of abandoning the party's secular principles through its proximity to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

“Our party, the NCP, will not have any sort of alliance or relationship with the NDA. The national leadership's actions cannot be accepted. As far as the LDF is concerned, it is not possible to move forward under such terms. Therefore, we register our strongest protest and have decided to move forward with complete unity as a distinct secular system,” he said.

Leaders of the rebel faction pointed to the national leadership's support for Maharashtra Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar, late Ajit Pawar’s wife, in recent Baramati assembly bypoll and what they described as tactical understandings with the BJP as evidence that the party's secular identity had been compromised. 

According to them, continuing under the present national leadership would be incompatible with the political position the party has maintained in Kerala as part of the LDF.

The rebellion was also fuelled by growing resentment over organisational decisions taken by the central leadership, particularly the appointment of Suresh Babu as state president. Rebel leaders claimed the state unit had not been consulted and learned about the decision only through media reports.

The faction further accused senior leader PC Chacko of orchestrating the move. According to leaders who attended the meeting, Chacko repeatedly engaged with the national leadership in Mumbai and Delhi to “parachute” Suresh Babu as the new state president, bypassing the wishes of the state leadership and grassroots workers.

The split unfolded amid high political drama after Suresh Babu, upon learning of the proposed parallel gathering, issued instructions prohibiting the meeting and warned participants of disciplinary action. However, the warning had little effect.

The meeting witnessed a massive show of strength by the rebel camp, with 13 of the party's 14 district presidents attending. Nearly all key state office-bearers and committee members were also present. Veteran leader Muckam Muhammad, who had earlier publicly protested the party's candidate selection process in Kozhikode, was among those who openly aligned with the Saseendran-Thomas faction.

To oversee the formation of the new organisation, the rebel group constituted a nine-member committee under the joint leadership of Saseendran and Thomas. The committee has been entrusted with drafting the constitution of the new party, finalising its name and completing registration formalities.

The formal launch of the new party is scheduled for June 20, following a meeting of the committee.

While the faction led by P C Chacko and Suresh Babu continues to enjoy the backing of the national leadership, Friday's developments indicated that a substantial section of the party's organisational structure in Kerala has shifted allegiance to the rebel camp. With most district-level leaders and office-bearers backing the move, the newly formed NCP-S is positioning itself as a “secular political force” determined to continue within the LDF fold.