Kerala: CPI(M) led LDF officially inducts Jose K Mani's faction of Kerala Congress (M)

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 22 : Ahead of the upcoming Kerala civic body and Assembly polls, Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) officially inducted Jose K Mani's faction of Kerala Congress (M) into the front on Thursday.
LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan made the announcement in Thiruvananthapuram after LDF's meeting earlier today and stated that Mani's faction of KC (M) has become part of LDF.
"The move will further weaken the United Democratic Front (UDF) which has become a coalition of two to three parties now. The induction of Jose K Mani faction will also bring more chances in the local body election and ensure the continuation of the government in the assembly election," said Vijayaraghavan.
He stated that the issues related to seat-sharing did not come for the discussion today.
Now, with induction KC(M), led by Mani into LDF, the front has 11 coalition partners. LDF is expected to gather Christian votes of central Kerala in the coming local body and assembly elections with the alliance of Mani's fraction of KC (M).
Mani had announced the party's decision to break away from the Congress-led UDFand align with the LDF on October 14. He also said he had resigned from his post as MP in Rajya Sabha.
The CPI(M) calculates that the KC(M) has a formidable vote bank in the Christian belt of Kottayam and Idukki districts, which could be beneficial, particularly with the civic polls round the corner.
When the UDF government was in power, the LDF had raised an allegation of a bar bribery scam against K M Mani and conducted several protests.
The LDF MLAs even tried to stop him from presenting the Budget in the Assembly. The bar bribery was one of the main campaign planks of the LDF in the 2016 Assembly polls.