In a big achievement for the BJP in Kerala, the party will head a town council in the State for the first time. BJP’s Prameela Sasidharan was on Wednesday elected as chairperson of the Palakkad Municipality. Though it was three seats short of simple majority, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the council in the voting.
BJP’s four-time councilor Prameela, representing the Puthoor North division, was elected as the municipality’s chairperson with 24 votes while her closest rival,
Priya of the Congress-led UDF, could get only 19 votes. CPI(M)’s A Kumari, who got nine votes in the first round, did not take part in the second round of voting.
The BJP had made big gains in the elections to the State’s local administration bodies in village and block panchayats and town and city councils.
The party had more than doubled its representation in the local bodies in comparison with its achievement in the 2010 election, a big step towards realising its dream of playing a decisive role in the State’s legislative process.
As elections to the councils of the six city corporations and 84 municipalities in the State were completed on Wednesday, the CPI(M)-led lDF came to power in five corporations while one, Kochi, fell into the pocket of the UDF. The civic elections in Kerala were held on November 2 and 5 and results were declared on November 7.
Though elections were held to 86 municipalities, chairpersons were elected only in 84 on Wednesday as disputes in the UDF necessitated postponement of elections in two councils, Kalamassery in Ernakulam district and Kalpetta in Wayanad, to Thursday. Newly elected members of the civic bodies were sworn in on November 12.
Election of Mayor in the newly created Kannur Corporation became a real shocker for the UDF as lDF’s EP latha was elected as city chief with the vote of Congress rebel PK Ragesh.
In the 55-seat corporation council, the lDF and UDF had got 27 seats each and Ragesh’s vote had thus become the clincher.