KOTTAYAM: Just six months after seizing power in Pala municipality, the future of the Congress-led UDF council hangs in the balance in the wake of intensifying conflict between Congress councillors and the independents’ collective, led by the Pulikkakandam family.
The conflict has taken a new turn after independent member Diya Pulikkakandam filed a police complaint against Congress councillor Biju Mathews, accusing him of stealing her wristwatch and a file the other day.
The development occurred a few days after Biju lodged a complaint against Diya’s father and councillor, Binu Pulikkakandam, alleging physical assault. Further complicating matters, the independent group -- consisting of Diya, Binu, and Binu’s brother Biju Pulikkakandam -- has exited the ‘Team UDF’ WhatsApp group in Pala.
In the 26-member council, the UDF has 10 members including six from the Congress, three from the Kerala Congress (Joseph), and one from Mani C Kappen’s Kerala Democratic Party (KDP). Following the local body elections last December, the UDF secured power with the support of the independents’ collective and a Congress rebel.
However, the UDF’s efforts to collaborate with the independents have faced challenges from the very outset. Initially, Binu and his daughter Diya demanded both the chairperson and vice-chairperson positions for the first two and a half years.
Subsequently, the KPCC and UDF leaderships intervened, temporarily resolving the issue by providing the chairperson’s post to Diya for the first two and a half years and picking Maya Rahul, a Congress rebel, as vice-chairperson for six months.
As per the understanding, the six-month term for the vice-chairperson concludes on June 26, after which the position should be handed over to Binu. The current crisis stems from the Congress councillors’ reluctance to grant both the roles to the father-daughter duo simultaneously.
The ongoing disputes and cases filed against one another have deepened the divide between the two sides, creating an administrative impasse, as the council has been unable to convene amid conflicts. Meanwhile, there are reports of a move to form a bloc within the council, comprising seven members, including the Joseph group, a KDP councillor, and the independent group, to exert pressure on the Congress.