The chaotic Budget session of the Kochi Corporation on Tuesday seems to have opened a new warfront between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) going beyond the civic body with charges flying thick and fast between the two sides.
At a media briefing held in his chamber shortly after the stormy session, Mayor M. Anilkumar dubbed the alleged physical attack on Deputy Mayor K.A. Ansiya as a manifestation of the increasing criminalisation of the UDF politics in the district under its new leadership. Without taking names, he said a UDF councillor remanded in a criminal case was among those who led the UDF charge in the council.
“Grooming such criminal elements will not be good for politics in Kochi and Ernakulam. After a point even the UDF leaders [among the Opposition] seemed helpless. They have the right to protest, but the physical attack on a woman Deputy Mayor should be seen against the backdrop of the UDF leadership in Ernakulam,” he said and cited his headless posters displayed by UDF councillors to further drive home his point.
