Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Congress (Mani), a key partner of the ruling LDF, on Wednesday firmly denied any possibility of returning to the Congress-led UDF in the wake of the recent civic polls results.
Addressing reporters here, KC (M) Chairman Jose K Mani rejected speculations about a potential move following the recent local body elections.
"We are with the LDF. We stand firm with them," Mani said after attending an LDF meeting here.
Kerala Congress (M), once an ally of the UDF, shifted to the LDF under the leadership of Jose K Mani following the death of his father and party stalwart K M Mani.
The KC(M) chairman's comments come amidst widespread speculations that the Kerala Congress faction may return to the UDF, eying the possibilities in the upcoming Assembly elections.
The UDF's success in the recent local body elections has sparked a debate among its allies over the possibility of bringing back KC (M) to its fold.
While some leaders have supported the move, others have opposed it.
Jose K Mani acknowledged the setbacks in the party's performance in the local body elections and said it would be introspected in depth and rectified.
"The party's organisational votes and seats were intact. We could retain the votes in our influential pockets and maintain the status quo. But, generally, there was a flow of votes to the UDF across Kerala this time," he said while explaining the party's performance in the recent local body election.
He also rejected the media reports portraying LDF's performance as a "massive debacle", noting that LDF retained seven of the total 14 district panchayats.
"There were lapses and setbacks... That will be introspected in depth. We accept the people's verdict politely," Mani added.
His remarks came a day after Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal had suggested that parties in the LDF that share the UDF ideology would return to the front.
Earlier, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said it was up to Kerala Congress (M) to decide whether it wanted to return to the UDF.
Kerala Congress (Joseph), however, had strongly opposed any move to bring Kerala Congress (M) back into the UDF fold.
Its founder-leader P J Joseph, on Monday said he did not view the remarks made by some UDF leaders on the issue seriously.
The local body elections in Kerala saw major gains for the UDF, which won four of the six municipal corporations, while the LDF retained Kozhikode and the BJP-led NDA captured the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
The UDF also won seven of the 14 district panchayats in the state, with the LDF securing the remaining seven
