The Congress faced internal unrest in Alappuzha district after the Kuttanad Assembly seat was allotted to its UDF ally, Kerala Congress (Joseph), for the 2026 Kerala Assembly election. The decision disappointed a section of local Congress leaders who had wanted the party itself to contest the constituency.
Following the seat-sharing decision, Alappuzha DCC vice president Saji Joseph and DCC general secretary K. Gopakumar resigned from their party posts. Saji Joseph also announced that he would contest from Kuttanad as an independent candidate, protesting the allocation of the seat to Kerala Congress (J), which fielded Reji Cheriyan. The development highlighted growing dissatisfaction within the local Congress unit over the UDF’s candidate-selection process