The Hindu 09.11.2010
Four municipalities get new chairpersons
City Bureau
| UDF gets Neyyatinkara and Varkala, LDF to rule Attingal, Nedumangadu municipalities |
Attingal
Thiruvananthapuram: S. Kumari of the CPI(M) was sworn in Chairperson of the Attingal municipal council on Monday.
M. Pradeep, also of the CPI (M), was sworn in Vice-Chairperson. While Ms. Kumari was elected to the council from the Pachoorkkunnu ward, Mr. Pradeep represents the Karichiyil ward.
The election to the post of Chairperson and the swearing-in was held at 10 a.m., the election and swearing-in of the vice-chairperson was held at 3 p.m.
Though the LDF has only 17 seats in the 31-member council, Ms. Kumari received 18 votes in Monday’s election. The additional vote was that of UDF councillor Muraleedharan Nair. The UDF has 13 members in the council; the lone BJP councillor did not attend Monday’s elections. According to officials of the Attingal municipality, the UDF councillor’s vote may have been the result of a mix-up in names. “The UDF candidate for the post of chairperson was one Prema Kumari. The similarity in names might have led the councillor to vote for the LDF candidate,” an official explained. Mr. Pradeep’s election was along party lines and the vote count was 17-13 in his favour. The UDF had put up councillor Vijayakumar for the post of Vice-Chairperson. Attingal Municipal Secretary K. Harikumar told The Hindu that the elections to the six standing committees of the municipality would be held at 11 a.m. on November 18. The elections to the post of chairmen of these standing committees will be held on November 24, he added.
Varkala
K. Sooryaprakash and Sumayya of the Congress were sworn in as Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson respectively of the Varkala municipal council on Monday.
Mr. Sooryaprakash, elected from the Municipal Office ward, was administered the oath of office by Returning Officer and Deputy Collector (Revenue Recovery, Thiruvananthapuram) M. Vijayaleksmi at the Council hall. Ms. Sumayya, who represents the Vallakkadavu ward in the council, was administered the oath by the Chairperson.
In the elections held to the post of the Chairperson in the morning, Mr. Sooryaprakash defeated N. Gopinadhan Nair of the CPI(M).
In the 33-member council, Mr. Sooryaprakash of the UDF got 19 votes and the LDF candidate 12. One vote was declared invalid and the lone BJP councillor, R. Vinayakumar, abstained from voting. In the Council, the UDF has 18 members (Congress, 17 and Kerala Congress (M), one). The LDF has 11 councillors with CPI(M) 9 and CPI two. The BJP has one seat and there are three independents.
Municipal sources said Mr. Sooryaprakash’s vote was declared invalid by the Returning Officer as it was not properly marked. This led to tension in the ruling UDF camp. The UDF managed to get the support of two independents and the LDF that of the other in the Chairperson’s elections.
In the elections held to the post of Deputy Chairperson in the evening, Ms. Sumayya defeated Beevijan of the LDF. Ms. Sumayya, got 20 votes and Ms. Beevijan, who was elected to the council on a CPI ticket from Raghunathapuram ward, got 12 votes. Mr. Vinayakumar abstained from voting.
Speaking to The Hindu, the Chairperson said his immediate priority would be to streamline garbage collection in the municipality and to commence the working of the garbage plant at the earliest in view of the tourist season. “We are committed to fulfilling the promises made to the people in the manifesto. We stand for a Clean Varkala,” he added.
Nedumangadu
Lekha Suresh of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was elected Chairperson of the Nedumangadu municipality.
The 39-member council which met here on Monday ratified her election by 20 votes.
The Left Democratic Front has 18 seats in the council and the United Democratic Front 17 seats.
The Bharathiya Janata Party has two representatives in the council and the other two councillors were elected as independents.
The Independent councillors, Rajendran Nair and Raveendran, are both Communist Party of India (Marxist) rebels. They supported the LDF in the election of the chairperson.
Pattathil Sherif of the Communist Party of India was elected the Vice-Chairman of the council by 20 votes.
The Opposition councillors staged a walkout accusing the Chairperson of not showing the propriety of giving an acceptance speech or inviting the Leader of the Opposition to felicitate the newly elected office-bearers of the council.
Neyyatinkara
S. S. Jayakumar of the UDF was elected chairperson of the Neyyattinkara municipality in the council elections held here on Monday.
The electorate in Neyyattinkara municipality had given a hung verdict in this year’s local body elections with the rival fronts winning 20 seats each in the 44-member council. However, the UDF had the distinct possibility of taking over the municipality as the four winning independent candidates were either Congress rebels or those with clear leaning towards the Congress.
Mr. Jayakumar won 24 votes against the 19 votes polled by CPI(M)’s councillor from Rameswaram K. Ansalan who had also been the vice-chairman in the last council. One vote was declared invalid.
UDF’s councillor from Vazhuthur L.S. Sheela who polled 24 votes against the 20 votes of CPI(M)’s V. Sudha from Punnaikkad ward, was elected the vice-chairperson of the council.
Returning Officer Mohan administered the oath of office to Mr. Jayakumar. The vice-chairperson was sworn in by the chairperson.
Neyyattinkara municipality had been a bastion of the LDF for the last 31 years. Though the LDF had the majority in the last council, the post of the chairperson was held by a Congress candidate as the seat had been reserved for women in the Scheduled Caste.
