The Congress party suffered a major political setback in Mattathur Kodakara after all its elected members in the local body resigned together on Saturday, 27th December and joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party, leading to a sudden change in power at the panchayat.
#Kerala | Eight Congress councillors who resigned from the party joined hands with the BJP to elect independent candidate Tessy Jose Kallarakkal as the president of Thrissur's Mattathur grama panchayat on Saturday. https://t.co/LJojh9kwX0
— The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) December 27, 2025
In an unexpected development, all eight Congress members of the Mattathur grama panchayat quit the party at the same time and supported the BJP to form a new ruling group. Independent candidate Tessi Jose Kallarakkal, who had won the election as an Independent, was elected panchayat president with the backing of the former Congress members and BJP representatives.
The 24-member panchayat had a fractured mandate, with the Left Democratic Front holding 10 seats, the United Democratic Front holding 8 seats, and the National Democratic Alliance having 4 seats. There were also two Independent councillors.
In the presidential election, Tessi Jose Kallarakkal secured 12 votes, which included the support of all eight former Congress members and three of the four BJP members. One BJP memberโs vote was declared invalid. Independent councillor K. R. Ouseph, who had contested as a Congress rebel, received 10 votes supported by LDF members.
The dramatic shift came at a time when the LDF was reportedly trying to form an administration by joining hands with the Congress rebel-turned-Independent councillor. However, the sudden exit of the entire Congress group and its alignment with the BJP took the party leadership by surprise and left the Congress camp stunned.
In their resignation letters, the Congress members said they were protesting against what they described as injustice and neglect by the party leadership towards the mandalam Congress committee and grassroots workers. They said their decision was driven by dissatisfaction with how the party functioned at the grassroots level.
These incidents have brought the Congress party to a serious crisis in Mattathur, and this is considered a rare situation where an entire elected group left the party altogether and changed the power dynamics instantly.
In response to the situation, K. V. Abdul Khader, the secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Thrissur district committee, said the mass shift of Congress members to the BJP-led front was a planned move carried out with the knowledge of the Congress leadership.
He said the eight representatives had turned their backs on the voters who elected them and chose to align with the BJPโs politics. He also said similar political tie-ups had been seen earlier in places like Vadakara and Beypore, and claimed that disciplinary action taken by the Congress was only an attempt to mislead the public.
Khader further stated that such cooperation between the Congress and communal forces would weaken the partyโs own base and added that a strong mass movement would be built against what he described as this political nexus.
