Weeks after pulling down a United Democratic Front (UDF)-led council, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Monday came to power in Changanassery municipality .
In an election held to the municipal council, LDF-backed independent Beena Joby was elected as the new chairperson of the civic body. She defeated Shyni Shaji of the Congress by a margin of five votes.
While Ms. Joby received 19 votes, Ms. Shaji received only 14 votes. The vote cast by the vice-chairman Benny Joseph was declared in valid. All three members of the BJP abstained from the election.
As per an understanding within the LDF, the new chairperson will hold the post for one year and later hand it over to the CPI(M).
Earlier on July 27, the LDF moved a no-confidence motion against chairperson Sandhya Manoj with the support of two Congress councillors—Raju Chacko and Babu Thomas, besides Ms. Joby.
In the 37-member Council, the UDF had enjoyed the support of 18 members including three Independents. Ms. Manoj, also an Independent member, was supposed to hold the post for 20 months till August 28, 2022, before handing it over to Ms. Joby. Ms. Joby, in turn, would have handed over power to Shiny Shaji, a Congress councillor.
Ms. Manoj, however, refused to step down on the expiry of her term, triggering an infighting within the UDF. Cashing in on the situation, the LDF moved the motion and pulled down the UDF from power.
