PC Tomas-led party Kerala Congress left the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The party by Thomas who was Union Minister of State for Law and Justice for Kerala from 2003 to 2004 and a six-term member of Lok Sabha from 1989 to 2009, took the decision late on Tuesday night after not getting a single seat for contesting in the upcoming Assembly election.
The party contested on four constituencies, but this time, the BJP was not ready to part with a single seat.
Thomas’s Kerala Congress will merge with Kerala Congress (Joseph) and will become part of the Congress-led United Democratic Front or UDF.
Thomas’s contest in 2004 as the candidate of National Democratic Alliance (NDA), where he defeated both the candidates of UDF and Left Democratic Front (LDF), was considered a landmark victory in the political history of Kerala. However, Supreme Court of India cancelled the results and disqualified him in 2006 on the ground that he used his religious background to woo voters during the polls.
The election for the 140-member Kerala assembly in 14 districts will be held in a single phase on April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.
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