Mon Nov 17 04:08:58 UTC 2025: News Article:

Kerala NCP in Turmoil Ahead of Local Elections as Factions Juggle Ideologies

KOTTAYAM, INDIA – November 17, 2025 – Kerala’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is once again demonstrating its penchant for political volatility, splitting into factions and realigning allegiances ahead of the upcoming local body elections.

The party’s troubles began before the 2021 elections when MLA Mani C. Kappen broke away to join the Congress-led UDF. Further fracturing occurred in 2023 following the Pawar family’s split in Maharashtra. In Kerala, N.A. Muhammad Kutty led a rebel group declaring loyalty to Ajit Pawar, while the remaining faction stayed with Sharad Pawar.

Complicating matters, both factions maintain that national alliances don’t necessarily dictate their actions within Kerala’s unique political landscape. The NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) remains aligned with the Left Democratic Front (LDF), while the Ajit Pawar-led faction, despite being part of the NDA nationally, is shunning the BJP in Kerala and seeking alliances elsewhere.

Mr. Muhammad Kutty defends this apparent contradiction as “political dexterity,” pointing to instances where the party has acted independently in other states. His faction is fielding 360 candidates in the local elections, utilizing the original “clock” symbol and aiming to attract support from smaller parties.

Meanwhile, the NCP-SP faction led by Thomas K. Thomas is embracing a new identity, symbolized by a “man blowing a trumpet.” Mr. Thomas believes the party’s fortunes in Kerala are tied to the LDF, which he sees as currently leading the political race.

The question remains how the 0.99% vote share the unified NCP secured in 2021 will be divided between the two factions, and whether either can translate that support into meaningful gains in the upcoming elections.

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