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In a dramatic political turn, eight Congress councillors who resigned from the party joined hands with the BJP to ensure the election of independent candidate Tessy Jose Kallarakkal as president of the Mattathur grama panchayat on Saturday, ending the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) 23-year-long control of the local body, on Sunday.
Mattathur panchayat has 24 wards. In the recent local body elections, the LDF won 10 seats, the UDF eight, the NDA four, while two independents were elected. The LDF had fielded independent councillor K R Ouseph as its presidential candidate, while the UDF backed the other independent, Tessy Jose Kallarakkal. In the decisive vote, Tessy Jose secured 12 votes, eight from the resigned Congress members and three from the BJP, with one BJP vote declared invalid. LDF-backed candidate Ouseph received support from all 10 LDF members. The political churn followed a series of last-minute realignments. With initial numbers moving towards a 10-10 tie between the LDF and UDF, the possibility of a draw of lots had emerged. The UDF had earlier convened a parliamentary party meeting and selected K R Ouseph, elected as a Congress rebel, as its parliamentary party leader and nominee for panchayat president. However, just ahead of the election, Ouseph reached an understanding with the LDF and switched sides. The move triggered protests from Congress members, who accused Ouseph of betrayal. Subsequently, all eight Congress councillors resigned from the party, declared themselves independents, and, with support from the four BJP members, fielded Tessy Jose, herself a Congress rebel, who was elected panchayat president. Those who resigned from the Congress are Minimol, Sreeja, Suma Antony, Akshay Santhosh, Printo Palliparamban, Siji Rajesh, Sibi Paulose, and Noorjahan Navas. In their resignation letters, they cited alleged injustice by the party leadership towards the Mandalam Congress Committee and local party workers. Following the developments, KPCC president Sunny Joseph suspended DCC general secretary T M Chandran and Mandalam Congress president Shafi Kalluparambil from the party for acting against organisational decisions. The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee said the action was taken for "violating party decisions and leading efforts that put the party in crisis" at Mattathur panchayat in a statement. Despite the episode resulting in a Congress rebel assuming the president's post with BJP support, the Congress district and state leaderships have not yet announced an official stand on the local-level understanding with the BJP, nor have they initiated action against the eight councillors who resigned. Meanwhile, CPM Mattathur Area Committee member Rajith alleged that the developments reflected an "unholy alliance" between the Congress and the BJP. He claimed, "Congress district leaders and a BJP state leader camped in the panchayat on the day of the election and worked in coordination to wrest control from the LDF." (ANI)
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