The Hindu 28.10.2010
UDF sweeps polls to urban bodies in district
Special Correspondent
| LDF loses Kochi Corporation after three decades; suffers setback in Thripunithura |
Standing tall: Soumya Jayan and Bhadra, two of the UDF candidates who won in Kochi Corporation elections, celebrating their victory.
KOCHI: The United Democratic Front (UDF) gave a heavy jolt to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) by grabbing a clear-cut majority in the elections to the three different levels of the civic bodies. The loss of Kochi Corporation after a three-decade-long rule was a hard knock to the LDF. Of the 11 municipalities in the district, the LDF won in only one municipality – Muvattupuzha, considered to be its stronghold.
But even there it could win only in 15 seats of the total 28; UDF won in 10 seats. The victory in this municipality lost its gloss as M. A. Zaheer, whom the LDF had projected as its candidate for chairmanship, lost.
A major setback for the LDF in the district was its defeat in Thripunithura. Worse, the chairperson of the outgoing LDF council, Ranjini Suresh, also was defeated. The UDF won a simple majority by garnering 25 seats in the 49-member council. LDF won in 22 seats; the BJP and others got one seat each.
The LDF also lost the three newly formed municipalities in Eloor, Thrikkakara and Maradu.
The UDF won in seven municipalities —Kothamangalam, Aluva, Thripunithura, Kalamassery, Perumbavur, Thrikkakara and Maradu — out of the total 11. Angamaly, Eloor and North Paravur threw up a hung council. In the last election, of the eight municipalities in the district, the LDF had won all but Kalamassery and Aluva.
Middle-level LDF leaders in the district said that they had sensed a setback against the backdrop of a heavy voter turnout on October 25.
In the Kochi Corporation, the UDF won 47 seats in the 74-member-council whereas the LDF ended up with 23 seats. The BJP secured two seats in the election. The highlight of the election to the Kochi Corporation is that the Congress managed to get a simple majority in the council as 39 of its candidates got elected. The CPI (M), which had dominated the civic administration for over 30 years, was reduced to 19 seats.
Three independent candidates fielded by the CPI (M) emerged victorious. Two representatives each of the Socialist Janatha (Democratic) and the Kerala Congress (Mani) were also elected to the council.
The CPI suffered a set back in the council as the representation of the party was limited to just one seat.
Among the prominent losers were John Fernandez of LDF, a former MLA (nominated) from Edakochi(South) and A.C. Sabu of UDF who was the opposition leader in the outgoing civic body, from Island (north).
