Kerala Congress(M) leader Jose K. Mani has resigned as a member of Rajya Sabha, won with the support of the opposition UDF, amid strong indications that he would fight the coming assembly polls as an LDF candidate.
Mani said on Saturday that he submitted the resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi on Friday.
Talking to reporters in Palakkad, Mani, son of late Kerala Congress stalwart and former minister K.M. Mani, said he quit the seat "for upholding morality in political life."
The Kerala Congress (M)-led by Jose K. Mani had joined the CPI(M)-led LDF after a split in the party following a rift between factions led by him and senior leader P.J. Jospeh.
As a new partner in the LDF, the KC(M) made its presence felt in central Kerala districts, including Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta, winning many wards in the recently held local body elections in the state.
Asked whether he would fight the coming assembly polls, he said there was still months to go for it and the decision on this candidature would be taken only after discussions in the LDF and the party.
While ending his party's decades old ties with the Congress-led alliance in October 2019, Jose had said he would quit his Rajya Sabha membership, won with the support of the UDF.
