THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Newly elected mayor V V Rajesh and Deputy Mayor Asha Nath on Friday evening visited BJP councillor R Sreelekha at her residence, amid reports that she was unhappy over being denied the mayoral post.
Sreelekha had left the council hall soon after Rajesh took oath and before he delivered his first address, even as Opposition councillors were still present. She did not participate in the celebrations, triggering speculation within political circles.
Following the visit, Rajesh said the meeting was part of an outreach effort to interact with senior leaders in the corporation. “We are meeting all important leaders and began with this visit. We also discussed upcoming initiatives in the health sector with Dr Sethunath,” he said, adding that Sreelekha had assured her support for the corporation’s activities.
However, a party source said Sreelekha continued to be upset over missing out on the mayoral position, and that the BJP leadership was making efforts to pacify her and maintain unity within the council. It is learnt that strong backing from the RSS helped Rajesh stake his claim to the post. A section of party leaders had reportedly opposed Sreelekha’s candidature, citing her lack of political experience.
The source said the party leadership felt that the BJP, which does not enjoy an absolute majority in the council, required a leader with stronger political acumen to steer the corporation through a challenging phase.