The president of Left Democratic Front (LDF)-ruled Ramankary grama panchayat in Kuttanad, Alappuzha was voted out of office through a no-confidence motion on Tuesday.
Panchayat president R. Rajendrakumar of the CPI (M), who was at loggerheads with the party for the past several months, was ousted when four of the nine CPI(M) members in the local body joined four United Democratic Front (UDF) members to vote in support of the no-trust motion. The no-confidence motion was passed with eight votes against five in the 13-member panchayat.
Panchayat vice president Kunjumol Sivadas, an ally of Mr. Rajendrakumar, was also unseated from the post in a no-confidence motion against her.
Earlier this month, the UDF served notices for the motion of no confidence against the president and vice president with the support of three CPI (M) members.
Mr. Rajendrakumar, meanwhile, announced his resignation as a panchayat member representing ward 13 (Vezhapra West) and declared that he had severed all his ties with the CPI (M). He will join the Communist Party of India (CPI) and remain in the LDF.
Last year, more than 200 CPI (M) members from Ramankary, Muttar, Thalavady, Kavalam and Veliyanad in Kuttanad quit the party following a factional feud and joined the CPI. Though the CPI (M) had expelled a few local leaders for “anti-party activities”, it did not initiate action against Mr. Rajendrakumar, a major driving force behind the rebellion, and panchayat members who support him fearing the party would lose power in the local body.
Unlike other CPI (M) members who switched to the CPI, Rajendrakumar, though, remaining distanced from the CPI (M) did not quit the party to stay in the post of panchayat president much to the chagrin of the party leadership.
The removal of Mr. Rajendrakumar brought curtains down on over two decades of CPI (M)-rule in the panchayat. The CPI (M) leadership, however, distanced itself from the developments stating that the no-confidence motion was moved without their knowledge.
CPI district secretary T.J. Anjelose alleged that the CPI (M) district leadership had joined hands with the Congress to oust Mr. Rajendrakumar. The people will evaluate the opportunistic attitude of the CPI (M) leadership. The CPI (M) did not issue a whip to its members in Ramankary panchayat ahead of the no-confidence motion, which points to the understanding it reached with the Congress leadership, he added.
