KC(M) can decide about their return to UDF: KPCC chief

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 14 (PTI) A day after the UDF's massive victory in the civic body polls, KPCC Chief Sunny Joseph said on Sunday that Kerala Congress (M), once a major coalition partner in the UDF and now a part of the ruling LDF, can now decide whether they should come back to the Congress-led front.

He also said that UDF would expand its base ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, indicating that those who had left the party earlier could now return in view of the people's verdict.

KC(M) had joined hands with the CPI (M)-led LDF after snapping its decades-old ties with the UDF over some differences years ago.

"It is up to them to discuss, decide, and determine. Let's think," Joseph said when reporters asked about accepting KC(M) into the UDF fold if it comes back.

He also said a decision would soon be taken on Trinamool Congress leader P V Anvar, a former independent LDF MLA who had ended his association with the Left front. He indicated that Anvar's party would become an associate member of the UDF, and the final announcement would be made soon.

He said Anvar has already extended support to the UDF, and only some technical issues remain with regard to welcoming him to the UDF.

Joseph said not just in the local body polls, but also in the Parliament election and in all the recent bypolls, the UDF had emerged victorious, and so how the people of Kerala think is well-evident through this.

While talking about the massive victory of the UDF, Joseph also admitted that he didn't expect such a large-scale victory.

"The anti-incumbency wave, the Sabarimala gold loss case, the coordinated work of the UDF, the performance of its candidates, and teamwork... all contributed to this enormous victory," he said.

The KPCC Chief also said even if the Congress-led UDF could not win the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram corporation, they could increase the number of seats from 10 to 19.

The shaking of the foundation of the ruling LDF has led to the NDA's victory in the Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation, he added.

A minor miscalculation occurred in the Kozhikode corporation, where the UDF had lost to the LDF for a few seats, while the Kollam corporation delivered a surprising result, he said.

In a morale-boosting show ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls, the Congress-led UDF on Saturday secured a decisive victory in Kerala's local body elections, dealing a blow to the LDF while the BJP wrested Thiruvananthapuram corporation from decades of Left control. PTI LGK ADB