The United Democratic Front, which has been going full throttle against the Left Democratic Front in the poll-bound Puthuppally, on Monday suffered a major embarrassment after the Kerala Congress members in Kidangoor panchayat, Kottayam joined hands with the BJP to capture the local body.
In an election held to the panchayat council , Thomas Maliyekkal of the Kerala Congress - a key constituent of the UDF, defeated E.M. Binu of the LDF to become its president. Mr. Maliyekkal bagged eight votes against the seven votes received by the LDF candidate.
Although the KC has just three members in the 13 member election council, it received the support of all five BJP members in the panchayat to win the election. Later in the day, Reshmi Rajesh of the BJP was elected as the vice-president with UDF support.
