THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the elections held to select heads of civic bodies, LDF had a sweeping victory in Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation and the four municipalities. LDF retained Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation and all four municipalities with their councillors now at helm with good leads. Arya Rajendran became the youngest mayor ever in the country securing 54 votes from fellow councillors.
Prominent figures like Shashi Tharoor, MP, and actor Kamal Hassan extended their regards to 21-year-old Arya who will lead the capital city for the next five years. While Kamal Hassan said that Arya is an inspiration and that such instances should happen in Tamil Nadu also, Tharoor said that it was time for a representative of the 51% of India’s population that’s under25 to lead. P K Raju who won from Pattom ward on CPI ticket was elected as the Deputy Mayor.
Tumultuous day in Nedumangad
In Nedumangad, CPM candidate C S Sreeja won with the support of 27 councillors. High drama unfolded later in the day when it was time to elect the vice-chairperson. CPI was supposed to get the position. However, CPM was not happy with the choice. In the end, CPM fielded a candidate of its own- C Harikeshan- who emerged victorious. “We had earlier informed the party that their candidate was not acceptable to us. He is corrupt and therefore not someone we can support. Our decision will change if they change the candidate,” said Jayadevan, CPM area secretary, Nedumangad.
P K Rajamohanan in Neyyattinkara
P K Rajamohanan, former state president of KSTA, was elected as the chairperson of Neyyattinkara municipality. Priyamma of Kerala Congress became the vice-chairperson. The narrow lead of 18-17 here for LDF and UDF had put the formation of council in question for long. However, by offer-ing Kerala Congress the vice-chairperson position, LDF secured the municipality without much ado. BJP secured 9 seats.
Disagreements in Attingal
Even before the chairperson election, NDA councillors expressed their discontent when an NDA councillor who arrived late for election was not allowed to take part in the proceedings. Here S Kumari of CPM became the chairperson for a second time. LDF has 18 seats here. Thulaseedharan Pillai of CPM became the vice-chairperson. In an official response, Suji, the BJP councillor who was not allowed in, said that LDF MLA Sathyan himself came half an hour late to an event she was part of before the election. However, he got delayed because of the traffic. When she reached the office by 11 am, the election procedures had already begun. She added that the MLA asked her to stay till the function concluded.
Easy win in Varkala
K M Laaji of CPM saw an easy victory in Varkala with the support of independent candidates. Here LDF has 12 seats while NDA won 11. Two independents decided to support LDF and one among the independents, Sudarshini became the vice-chairperson. UDF boycotted the chairperson election.