Challenges are far from over to the Congress leadership in the district, which has succeeded in forcing most of the Standing Committee chairpersons of the Kochi Corporation to resign.
In another fortnight, the political manoeuvring skills of the party leadership will be put to test in the form of election of members to the three Standing Committees, which will be followed by the election to the posts of chairpersons.
Barring Gracy Joseph, the chairperson of the Development Committee, three other chairpersons of the Congress had stepped down as directed by the leadership. While A.B. Sabu stepped down as the chairman of the Welfare Standing Committee, Shiny Mathew and K.V.P. Krishnakumar resigned as the heads of Town Planning and Tax Appeal Standing Committees. Ms. Joseph is yet to decide on the directive by the party leadership.
The party district leadership demanded the resignation of the chairpersons in the name of offering the posts to other seniors though the actual target was Mayor Soumini Jain, whom both the ‘A’ and ‘I’ factions had been targeting.
The outcome of the elections to the Standing Committees is expected to have an impact on the campaign for replacing Ms. Jain with Ms. Mathew. The Congress-led civic administration has been continuing in power with a margin of three votes in the 74-member council. Any cross-voting or erroneous voting in the election to the committees could upset the applecart of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Congress.
Dissent
Two women councillors have already threatened to withdraw their support for the UDF if Ms. Jain is removed from the post. A few other Congress councillors who had been standing by Ms. Jain all through the crisis have also sounded their dissatisfaction to the party leadership about the reported backroom operations for replacing Ms. Jain. It is to be seen whether these councillors will follow the dictates of the party leadership and toe the official line in the upcoming elections.
The notification for the election of members to Standing Committees is expected early this week to be followed by the election of chairpersons.
The Left Democratic Front, which has already two of the seven Standing Committees under its belt, would be banking on the fissures in the UDF camp to improve its tally in the council.
