With only victory in sight, Congress all set to reclaim four seats from Joseph faction

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress is all set to tighten its approach in seat allocation ahead of the assembly polls. As part of the move, the Congress may take over four of the seats contested by the Kerala Congress Joseph faction last time. The party is preparing to take over constituencies where a win is a certainty this time. Idukki, Ettumanoor, Kuttanad, and Changanassery seats contested by the Joseph faction in 2021 will fall to Congress if the talks reach fruition.

The Joseph faction, which contested 10 seats in 2021, won only two seats. Party Chairman P.J. Joseph won in Thodupuzha, and Mons Joseph in Kaduthuruthy. The Joseph faction, which had earlier won Kaduthuruthy by 42,256 votes in 2016, won by just 4256 votes in 2021. In Thodupuzha, the majority had come down from 45,587 to 20,259. The decision to take over the constituencies was made following a review led by Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan.

The Kerala Congress Joseph faction, meanwhile, is hell-bent on not kowtowing to the demands raised by Congress. However, the pressure may be beyond what Joseph's faction could withstand. Congress is sure of a victory in Changanassery if contested in the party symbol. The party thinks that the Joseph faction candidate will be humbled in Idukki, the constituency of Minister Roshy Augustine. While there is a feeling that a win could be attained if Congress fields a candidate instead.