THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The election to choose leaders in 73 panchayats, 11 block panchayats and Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat will be held on Wednesday. The election of presidents will be held on Wednesday morning, while that of vice-presidents will be held in the evening.
In district panchayat, district collector Navjot Khosa will be the presiding officer while the respective presiding officers in charge will oversee the elections in block panchayats and panchayats. Voting will be held if there are more than one candidate to contest the elections. After voting, the results will be declared by the presiding officer. The president will be sworn in by the presiding officer and the vice-president will be sworn in by the president. Strict protocol will be followed during the event.
Suresh Kumar to rule dist
Sureshkumar who won from Malayinkeezhu block division is the district president candidate. A Shailaja Begum will continue as vice-president. Of the total of eleven block panchayats, the LDF is expected to rule 10 of them. In Vellanad, the positions will be decided by taking draw of lots.
Among the 73 panchayats, 51 favoured the LDF giving them a clear lead, while 15 favoured UDF and four the NDA. Four panchayats have no clear lead. However, the picture will change on election day depending on the support of independents and party rebels.
CPM-CPI tiff: Nedumangad municipal vice-chairman steps down a day after being elected
T’Puram: As per the direction of the LDF leadership, the newly-elected vice-chairman from the CPM in Nedumangad municipality resigned on Tuesday. Harikeshan Nair of the CPM was elected and sworn in on Monday. However, the decision had soured the relations between the CPI and CPM as the vice-chairperson post was originally meant for CPI.
Local CPM leadership had been discontent with the CPI’s choice of candidate, S Raveendran, who had migrated to the party from UDF. They fielded Harikeshan Nair against Raveendran and won the vice-chairperson post. The local CPM leaders had earlier said they would step down if the choice of candidate is changed. “The resignation was done in the morning itself. The next election will be held only after a minimum of 14 days,” said Jayadevan, CPM area secretary, Nedumangad. Earlier, CPI leaders had made it clear that they would continue with S Raveendran as their deputy chairperson candidate.