Joseph group in a bind

With the Supreme Court upholding the Kerala High Court’s confirmation of an Election Commission order allotting the title and election symbol of the Kerala Congress (M) to the faction led by Jose K. Mani, the rival group led by P.J. Joseph appears to have come under immense pressure ahead of the coming Assembly election.

According to sources, the Joseph group has now become a collective of politicians without a valid registration by the Election Commission of India and this, in turn, will force the candidates fielded by it to contest as Independents under different election symbols. “Its candidates will not be able to submit nominations with endorsement from the party and, hence, are not entitled to the same election symbol. The group may now request the support of any smaller outfit to stake claim for a uniform symbol, but it is a risky option,” they said.