KOCHI: New chairpersons and vice-chairpersons were sworn in all but two municipalities in Ernakulam district on Wednesday. While group rivalry played spoilsport in Kalamassery, in Thrikkakkara municipality the new term for the next council would begin only from December 6.
Perumbavoor
In Perumbavoor, Sati Jayakrishnan (LDF) and Nisha Vinayan were elected chairperson and vice-chairperson respectively. For the election for chairperson, Sati(CPM) polled 15 votes while UDF’s Jebi IG received eight votes. BJP’s Omana Subramanian received three votes.
Angamaly
CPM-backed M A Gracy was elected as the new chairperson of Angamaly municipality while Janata Dal’s Biju Paulose was sworn in as vice-chairperson. In the election for chairperson’s post, Gracy defeated her nearest rival Reetha Paul by a margin of nine votes (19-10). This is a consecutive term as chairperson for Gracy, who donned the mantle from 2005.
Aluva
Lissy Abraham and C Omana were sworn in as chairperson and vice-chairperson of Aluva municipality. For the election to the top post in the 26-member council, Lissy of UDF got 15 votes while LDF’s Lolita Sivadasan received nine votes.
Paravoor
Ramesh D Kurup and Jessy Raju were sworn in as chairperson and vice-chairperson of Paravoor municipality. In the election, UDF representative Kurup’s name was proposed by councillor D Rajkumar and seconded by Pradip Thoppil. The LDF proposed the name of K A Vidyanandan. In the ensuring election, Ramesh Kurup received 15 votes while Vidyanandan got 13 votes.
Muvattupuzha
Usha Sreedharan (LDF) was sworn in as 13th chairperson of Muvattupuzha municipality. In the election held at the muncipal council hall, Usha polled 16 votes defeating Congress’ Sumeesha Nishad, who received 10 votes. The LDF’s win was boosted when K J Xavier, who won as an independent candidate from the 14th ward, voted for the LDF. Two members of BJP did not participate in the voting. Usha’s husband A R Shashidaran is an auto driver.
Kothamangalam
Manju Siju and A G George (both from Congress) were elected as chairperson and vice-chairperson of Kothamangalam municipality. In the 31-member council, both the Congress councillors received 21 votes. Manju, a teacher of Kothamangalam Mar Basil HSS, is the wife of former municipal chairman Advocate Siju and a first time member.
Maradu
In Maradu, an important suburban municipality of Kochi, UDF had the last laugh. Though the chairmanship was retained, the factional feud proved costly for the UDF. Even as UDF’s Ajitha Nandakumar assumed office as chairperson, LDF’s K A Devassy was elected the vice-chairman. “The UDF ensured chairmanship with the support of two independently-elected members. An LDF member was elected vice-chairman as two Congress members kept off the election,’’ said Councillor and former chairman T K Devarajan. In Maradu, the electorate had given a hung verdict, with both the fronts taking 15 seats each in the 33-member council. Among the remaining three members, two - Jabbar Pappana and Boban Nedumparampil - are Congress rebels and the other an independent. Though UDF ensured the support of Jabbar and Boban, two councillors who are lenient to the ‘I’ group kept off the voting, Devarajan added. The UDF would have won here had the rebels not contested against party candidates. The UDF had faced the threat of rebels in at least six divisions.
Tripunithura
LDF’s Chandrika Devi was elected as the chairperson and O V Saleem has been elected as the vice-chairman of the Tripunithura municipality on Wednesday. In the 49-member council, Chandrika emerged victorious after winning 25 votes. Saleem proposed the name of Chandrika Devi and Jayaparameswaran seconded it.
Koothattukulam
UDF’s Prince Paul John was elected as the first chairperson of the Koothattukulam municipality on Wednesday. Omana Baby of the UDF has been elected as the fist vice chairperson. P C Jose proposed the name of Prince Paul and was seconded by Seena John.
Piravom
Sabu K Jacob of the UDF was elected the first chairperson of the Piravom municipality. Ayisha Madhavan of UDF has been elected as the vice- chairperson. Sabu Jacob was the president of Piravom grama panchayat before it was upgraded as municipality.