The Left Democratic Front (LDF) will now rule the Mankulam grama panchayat with the victory of its candidate Bincy Roy by a margin of 48 votes over his nearest United Democratic Front (UDF) rival Elsy Eldhose in the by-election held for the Ambatham Mile (Ward No 3) ward held on Friday.
Ms. Roy polled 283 votes, Ms. Eldhose 235 votes, and and the Bharatya Janata Party (BJP) candidate 42 votes.
The grama panchayat turned hung after Ms. Roy who was elected on the Congress symbol resigned, leaving the rival fronts with six members each.
Ms Roy contested the by-election on the symbol of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The ward has a considerable population of tribespeople — 393 voters among the 658-strong electorate. As much as 85.1 per cent of the votes were polled in the by-election.
In the Calvery Mount ward of the Kamakshy grama panchayat, UDF candidate Bijumon Thomas (Congress) won the by-election by a margin of 14 votes.
He got 431 votes over his immediate rival Scaria Varghese (Janathipadya Kerala Congress) who polled 417 votes and the BJP candidate who polled 5 votes.
The election has been necessitated by the death of the UDF member. In the 15-member panchayat, the Congress now has six seats. The Kerala Congress (M) had won four seats in the undivided UDF in the last local body elections. The LDF has four seats. There polling was 81.54 per cent in the by-election.
The front wins the by-poll to 15-member panchayat
