KOCHI: The Congress has finalised the candidates to head the municipalities where factional feud had hit the selection of chairperson and vice-chairperson. Zakeer Hussain, KPCC general secretary and son of veteran Congress leader T H Mustafa, will be the chairman of Perumbavoor municipality.
Though UDF came to power in Perumbavoor after five years, a section of ‘I’ group leaders had opposed the appointment of Zakeer as chairman. Instead, the leaders proposed the names of Paul Pathickal and former Opposition leader Biju John Jacob for the post. Following this, the party decided to appoint Zakeer as chairman for first the two years considering his seniority. The remaining three-year tenure will be shared between Paul and Biju equally (one-and-a-half years).
Congress leader P P Eldhose will be the chairman of Muvattupuzha municipality. In Angamaly municipality, where UDF won 15 out of 30 seats, the tussle between the two Congress factions over the chairperson post delayed the selection of candidates. Now, Congress has decided to appoint ‘A’ group nominee Reji Mathew as chairman of the municipality for two years, after which Mathew Thomas of ‘I’ group will take over for another two years. Sheo Paul will head the municipality for the remaining one year. Reetha Paul, a five-time winner, will be the vice-chairperson. However, the UDF is yet to finalise candidates for the chairperson and vice-chairperson posts in Kalamassery municipality. Both ‘A’ and ‘I’ factions of the Congress have been demanding the chairperson post, which is reserved for SC women.
Meanwhile, a section of leaders from both the factions have expressed dissent against the selection of Seema Kannan, the nominee of prominent ‘I’ faction leader Jamal Manakkadan. The ‘A’ group leaders have instead proposed the name of Sahana Sambaji, who is the granddaughter of late Congress leader Malippuram Bhaskaran and daughter of former panchayat member and party leader M K Sambaji.
Both the LDF and UDF each got 20 seats in the 41-member Kalamassery municipality after a Congress rebel backed UDF, while IUML rebel K H Subair supported LDF. Meanwhile, the LDF has named Chitra Surendran as its chairperson candidate.
Elections of prez, VP of dist panchayat tomorrow
The election to the president and vice-president posts of Ernakulam district panchayat, where UDF got 16 out of 27 seats, will be held on Tuesday. Here too, both ‘A’ and ‘I’ factions are staking their claim for the chairperson post. While ‘I’ group nominee Ullas Thomas, who won from Avoly division, is the frontrunner for the post, the ‘A’ group has suggested the name of Manoj Moothedan, former KSU and Youth Congress state functionary and senior DCC leader. Former president Asha Sanil will be the vice-president, said sources.