The Bharatiya Janata Party lost power in the Kalliyoor grama panchayat, the only panchayat where the party was in power in the Thiruvananthapuram district, after the Left Democratic Front (LDF)‘s no confidence motion against the president and vice president were passed with the support of a BJP member and a Congress member. Out of the 21 members in the panchayat, 10 belong to the BJP, 9 to the LDF and 2 to the United Democratic Front (UDF).
On Wednesday, LDF member M.Somasekharan Nair moved a no confidence motion against K.K.Chandhukrishna and vice president V.Saritha, accusing the administration of corruption in the utilisation of funds as well as of carrying out several appointments without tests or interviews. Although the parties had issued a whip to its members, BJP member V.Sudharma as well as Congress member L.Santhimathi voted in support of the motion, which was passed with eleven votes against nine.
Ms.Sudharma, who is in her third term as a member, was reportedly unhappy at not being given proper consideration within the party. She said that she will take a similar stand in the elections to the president and vice president post if the situation remains the same then too. The BJP had managed to win two successive terms at Kalliyoor, which has in the past been ruled by the LDF as well as the UDF.
