UDF convener seeks AICC intervention over ‘lack of consultation’ in Kerala ruling alliance

UDF convener Adoor Prakash

United Democratic Front (UDF) convener Adoor Prakash on Monday sought the intervention of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to address his publicly aired complaints about the lack of consultation in the ruling alliance in Kerala, including “arbitrariness and lack of transparency in key decisions”.

Mr. Prakash held a closed-door meeting with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi. From the meeting, Mr Prakash gave a brief nod to reporters when asked if he had brought up his criticism, which appeared to be indirectly directed at Chief Minister VD Satheesan’s style of functioning, to the party high command.

The Congress president in New Delhi said that Mr. Prakash had given a written statement to Mr. Kharge and had asked for a meeting with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. He said he was not privy to Mr. Prakash’s correspondence and could not comment on whether it was critical of Mr. Satheesan or current decision-making.

When asked if Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph’s separate meeting with Mr. Kharge at the AICC headquarters in Indira Bhavan could be interpreted as an endorsement of Mr. Prakash’s publicly aired protests, the party leader said the high command had called the meeting to discuss increasing the party’s agitation and seeking the recall of chief election committeeman Gyane Kumar.

Mr. Joseph, Kerala’s electricity minister, later confirmed to reporters in New Delhi that he had met Mr. Kharge separately, but declined to comment further. Mr Prakash appeared to target the government for “keeping the ruling alliance in the dark” about two key political appointments, notably those of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader MK Muneer as chairman of the Administrative Reforms Committee, a post equivalent to cabinet rank, and G Devarajan, the national general secretary of the Forward Block, as special representative in New Delhi.

‘Non-transparent way’

Mr. Prakash noted that he had no reservations about the merits of the nominated leaders but had serious doubts about the “non-transparent and forceful manner” in which the decision was taken behind the UDF’s back. As a result, Mr. Prakash drew criticism from his colleagues, including several Congress MPs, for airing contentious matters of the alliance in the public domain. Reportedly pro-Congress social media has taken different sides on the issue, raising the specter of renewed online intra-party feuds.

Mr Muneer’s appointment is also said to have caused some displeasure in the Congress hierarchy, with some leaders privately wondering whether the government had inadvertently made itself vulnerable to a scathing accusation by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the UDF had indirectly acquiesced to the IUML’s pre-election position that the party was eligible for the sixth post.

The political appointments also sent ripples through the UDF, with the Kerala Congress projecting its president PJ Joseph as a potential candidate for the constitutional post under the IUML, signaling displeasure at the alliance’s lack of consultation. Notably, the UDF met only once after the Satheese government came to power.

Published – 5 Oct 2026 19:27 IST