Following violation of Anti-Defection Law, Pallickal grama panchayat president and five members of the panchayat committee were disqualified from committee membership and banned from contesting elections to the local body for a period of six years.
State Election Commissioner K Sasidharan Nair disqualified Pallickal panchayat president Ambika Kumari, vice-president Pallickal Nazir and members V S Remya, S Ramaniamma, Manikandan Pallickal and V D Deepthi, based on a complaint filed by another panchayat committee member Liza Nizam.
The Congress had eight seats in the 13-member panchayat committee. The CPM had four seats and the BJP one.
Earlier, Congress nominee Liza Nizam and Pallickal Nazir were elected president and vice-president respectively.
But, following difference of opinion in the committee, the now disqualified members, with the support of CPM and BJP members, moved a non-confidence motion in April 2013 against Lisa Nizam.
Rejecting the Congress party leadership’s directive to withdraw the non-confidence motion, they voted out the president and elected Ambika Kumari as president.But, their action invited disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law.