KOCHI: With just three days left to the September 28 by-elections to various local-body seats across the state, political parties in Ernakulam district have intensified their campaigning. Twenty20 has been particularly active in Poothrukka, where the election to one of the panchayat seats will be crucial for the party.
The bypoll in Kochi corporation’s Ward 19 (Ayyapankavu) was necessitated after Congress’ Deepak Joy resigned his post to contest the assembly election. The party has chosen Ajithkumar A K, a veteran leader from the locality, to replace the serving Tripunithura MLA and is confident of retaining the seat. LDF candidate P K Usman and NDA’s K V Bijoy are also local leaders of their respective fronts.
When the results of the local-body polls were announced, Poothrukka panchayat delivered a stalemate, with Twenty20 and UDF each bagging seven wards. LDF secured two. Twenty20, which fought the election as an independent entity, came to power through a draw of lots.
However, when the party announced an alliance with the BJP and contested the subsequent assembly polls as part of the NDA, panchayat president Pooja Jomon, who was elected from Ward 8, put in her papers in protest.
“This has not affected Twenty20 as a party,” Sabu Jacob, president of Twenty20, told TNIE. “We are hopeful of retaining the seat in the bypoll,” he said.
Deenamma Jacob is the Twenty20 candidate, while the UDF has fielded Saramma Paily Pillai. The LDF is betting on Neethu Joy. The BJP had not contesting the seat, considering its alliance with Twenty20.
In Vadakkekkara panchayat, where the LDF is in power, Ward 9 became vacant when UDF’s Sebi Puthenveettil stood down on personal grounds.
“We are confident of the chances of our candidate, Jose Kuniyanthodath. It is a sitting seat of the UDF and we will retain it,” a local Congress leader. Though the bypoll will not change the power equations in the local body, the LDF and BJP candidates are keen to portray the election as a referendum on the state government. The LDF has Liju Joseph in the fray, while San P R is the BJP candidate.
With 10 members, UDF picked up the reins of Parakkadavu grama panchayat. The remaining seats went to LDF (seven), Twenty20 (one) and NDA (one). The by-election to Ward 4 (Puloyanam South) became necessary after LDF’s elected member Raji Rajeev resigned over personal reasons. Mallika Teacher is the UDF candidate here while Suganthi Joshi is on the ballot for the LDF. Sandra Subrahmanian is the NDA candidate. “We will retain the ward, which is a stronghold of the party,” said Jisha, a CPM member.
