KOCHI: Swearing in as the Deputy Mayor of the Kochi Corporation, Bhadra Satish of the UDF became the second in command in a council in which women are a majority, for the first time in history. She is also the second woman to become the Deputy Mayor, after O K Madhaviyamma, the late Congress leader, who was the first woman deputy mayor of Kochi Corporation. Bhadra was sworn in by Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany.
The Deputy Mayor was elected through an open ballot that went in her favour with 48 votes, against the 24 votes polled by Sunila Selvan of the LDF.
The two BJP councillors, Shyamala S Prabhu and Sudha Dileep Kumar, abstained from voting. Antony Kureethara and T K Babu, the two councillors who had won as Congress rebels, voted in favour of the UDF candidate.
The name of Bhadra Satish of the Congress, who was elected from Ernakulam South was proposed by Delina Pinhero of the Congress and seconded by Chandrika T N of the Socialist Janata (Democratic). The name of Sunila Selvan was proposed by Asha Pious and seconded by T S Rajam.
In her speech after the felicitations by the councillors, Bhadra thanked God and remembered her grandfather, poet G Sankarakurup. She said she will try her level best to do justice to the great responsibility placed on her.
She requested the support of everyone at the Corporation in the venture. She further said she will take steps to ensure the safety of women in the city.
Bhadra Satish, a firsttimer in the Corporation council, is the granddaughter of poet G Sankarakurup. She is the daughter of Sankarakurup's daughter Radha and M Achuthan.
A visiting faculty at a few educational institutions, she resides at Ernakulam South with her husband Satish V X and son Krishnan.