KOTTAYAM: In the high-profile electoral contest in Pala municipality, the Pulikkakandam family has emerged as a decisive force in determining who will rule the council this time. As the results of the local body elections were announced on Saturday, three members of the family, who contested as independents, achieved a surprising victory over established political parties.
Binu Pulikkakandam, former councillor of CPM, his brother Biju Pulikkakandam and Binu’s daughter Diya Binu have won from ward 13, 14 and 15 respectively. “Both UDF and LDF have approached us with offers. However, we have not made a decision yet We will take a decision after consulting with the voters in our wards, who gave us the victory,” Binu told TNIE.
Binu, a businessman-turned-politician, has been a councillor for the past 20 years. Having worked with various political parties, Binu said he had encountered the limitations imposed by party affiliations when striving for regional development.
He began his political journey through the KSU(I), the students wing of Congress and later worked with Democratic Indian Congress (Kerala), a splinter group led by K Karunakaran. Once a close confidant of Congress leader K Muraleedharan, Binu joined BJP in 2015 and later contested as CPM candidate in the 2020 election.
While Biju had an unsuccessful contest to Pala municipality in 2010, it is the first electoral contest for 21-year-old Diya, an Economics graduate from Madras Christian College, Chennai.