RS polls: KC(M) to field Jose K Mani

Kerala Congress (M) decided to field its leader Jose K Mani as the candidate of the Congress-led UDF for the Rajya Sabha election.

The decision to field Mani as candidate to the Upper House of Parliament was taken at the leaders' meeting of the KC(M) held tonight in Pala near here, hours after the party led by veteran leader K M Mani rejoined the UDF after a two-year hiatus.

Jose K Mani, son of K M Mani, is currently the party's lone member in Lok Sabha from Kottayam parliamentary constituency.

Jose K Mani will be the party's candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll. It is a unanimous decision," senior leader P J Joseph told reporters in Pala after the meeting.

Earlier in the day, KC (M) announced its decision to return to the UDF fold, after the Congress decided to support its candidate for the Rajya Sabha election.
The seat is currently held by Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurian of the Congress who will retire on July 1.

The KC(M) had walked out of the Congress-led UDF in August, 2016, ending over three-decade-long association alleging it was being "insulted" by the party leading the alliance.
After it snapped ties with the Congress nearly two years ago, the KC(M) has maintained that it was keeping equidistance from the UDF, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front, as also the BJP, which is trying to create a sustainable political space for itself in the southern state.