KOCHI: After being named as the Kochi mayor and deputy mayor, V K Minimol and Deepak Joy met with Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil at his official seat in the Verapoly archdiocese on Wednesday.
The visit assumes significance amid sustained engagements between the Latin Church leadership and the Congress leaders. Auxiliary Bishop of Verapoly Archdiocese Antony Valumkal and several senior clergy members were present during the meeting.
According to sources, the Church was keen on seeing its community represented at the helm of the Kochi corporation after a gap of nearly a decade. It had informally suggested two names for the mayor’s post — V K Minimol (Verapoly diocese) and Shiny Mathew (Kochi diocese).
As part of the arrangement finalised by the Congress-led UDF, Minimol, who is the state vice-president of Mahila Congress, and Shiny, a councillor from the Fort Kochi division, will serve as mayor for two-and-a-half years each of the five-year term. At the same time, the deputy mayor’s post will be shared between Deepak Joy and K V Krishnakumar.
Of the UDF’s 46 councillors, 18 belong to the Latin community.