Kerala MLA Pushes Away Congress Leader As He Tries To Hug Her; Viral Video Sparks Row

Thiruvananthapuram: In a shocking incident from Kerala, Congress leader Cherian Philip tried to hug newly elected Kollam MLA Bindu Krishna forcefully when she arrived for a legislative party meeting. The incident was recorded on camera. After the video went viral, Philip was facing criticism for his actions. Other arty leaders were also present at the spot when Philip attempted to hug the female MLA.In the video, it could be seen that Krishna was stopping Philip from hugging her. The footage shows Krishna arriving at the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office wearing a white and yellow saree and interacting with journalists. She then started moving towards the entrance of the office. Then Philip approached her.Video Of The Incident:

Kerala just witnessed peak creep culture.Senior Cheriyan tries a force-hug on MLA Bindhu Krishna inside the Indian National Congress office—she shoves him off & walks away.A party that shouts “women’s empowerment” can’t even empower its own women to feel safe.Absolute clown show pic.twitter.com/HqvgHGLEiy

— BJP Sashi Kumar Subramony 🇮🇳 (@BjpSashi) May 7, 2026

The video initially shows Bindu Krishna walking into the venue. After greeting the media, she moved ahead and appeared to extend her hand for a handshake upon seeing Philip. However, Philip moved forward to hug her instead. When she attempted to step away, he made another attempt to embrace her. Bindu Krishna then folded her hands and walked forward.After the video started doing rounds on social media, the Congress also faced criticism. So far, neither the Congress nor Krishna and Philip issued any official statement over the incident.Netizens’ Reaction:One of the X users wrote, “Politics aside, personal space matters. Leaders from every party should understand that celebratory moments should never make anyone uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable to even watch these visuals.”“She managed gracefully. Kudos to her. But He couldn’t control himself. Any action by @INCKerala ? You are good in preaching,” another X user commented.Kerala Assembly Election Results:In the recently concluded Kerala assembly polls, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) stormed back to power in Kerala after a decade, comfortably crossing the majority mark in the 140-member Assembly and handing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) a clear defeat. The Congress alone won 63 seats. Meanwhile, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Revolutionary Socialist Party won 22 and three seats, respectively; the other members of the UDF—the Kerala Congress and Revolutionary Marxist Party of India—bagged one seat each. The Left Democratic Front managed to win only 35 seats.