PATHANAMTHITTA: In-law rivalry, like the one in soap operas, is unfolding in Pallickal grama panchayat in Pathanamthitta’s Adoor, where a mother-in-law is going head to head with her daughter-in-law in the local body elections.
Ward 11, Chennampallil, is where Kunjumol Kochupappy, 76, an independent candidate, is facing off against her daughter-in-law, Jasmine Aby, the Congress pick. Interestingly, they share the same address.
Kunjumol’s husband Kochupappy served as an independent member of the panchayat. However, when the ward was declared a female-reserved seat, Kunjumol contested and won in 2015. The former ward member says her campaign is being run on a shoestring budget of less than Rs 20,000. She has put up just one flex board.
“I don’t have many resources for campaigning. I am meeting voters directly and seeking their support,” she says, adding that Jasmine submitted the nomination first, and that she did not know about it .
Denying any family rift, Jasmine says her candidature was purely a party decision. “There is no tension at home. I filed the nomination after receiving my mother-in-law’s blessings. I’m contesting as I was fortunate enough to get a UDF ticket this time. Anybody can contest from anywhere. There is nothing more than that,” she says.