Kerala Congress Joseph faction accepts ‘auto’ as official symbol

KOTTAYAM: The Kerala Congress Joseph faction has accepted ‘autorickshaw’ as their official symbol following the victory in the Lok Sabha elections. The symbol was approved by the high-powered committee of the party. Chairman P J Joseph will approach the election commission to allow autorickshaw as the permanent symbol of the party.

This time Kottayam was the constituency where a tough fight of Kerala Congressmen was witnessed. Another specialty was that the Kerala Congress came face to face in the elections for the first time after 1977. Francis George, the candidate of the Joseph faction of the Kerala Congress, won the constituency this time.

Francis George (358,646) won by 86,750 votes over sitting MP Thomas Chazhikkadan. Although it was allowed late in the election, auto became a lucky symbol for the Joseph faction.

With the victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the Joseph faction of the Kerala Congress has become more powerful in the UDF front. Chazhikkadan was relegated to the second position by securing 271,896 votes. BDJS candidate Thushar Vellappally garnering 1,61,897 votes turned a setback for Chazhikkadan.