The final outcome of the battle for Kochi Corporation seems heading for a nail-biting finish going by the last minute calculations and impressions made by major political parties.
The United Democratic Front (UDF), which swept to power by winning 47 out of the 74 seats in the local bodies’ poll in 2010, exuded confidence of regaining control of the Corporation even though the leaders echoed different views on the likely number of seats it will earn.
“We will win but I would not be able to predict the seats,” said Tony Chammany, former Mayor. “There will be a continuity of UDF rule this time,” he added.
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N. Venugopal, Congress leader and Chairman of the Greater Cochin Development Authority, had no doubts when he pointed out that the majority would come down compared to 2010. “Still, we will win 40 seats,” he said. Asked about the rebel menace spoiling the UDF’s chances, Mr. Venugopal admitted that they put up a tough fight for the front’s candidates in five to six divisions.
The Left Democratic Front, which lost the local body in 2010 after ruling it for over three decades, said that they would wrest power this time. “We expect to win comfortably,” said P. Rajeev, district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Asked whether the alleged UDF-BJP understanding would impact the results, Mr. Rajeev said they had joined hands in two to three divisions. “But whether it will make any influence at the grass-root level is not clear,” he said.
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A. N. Radhakrishnan, State secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, claimed that they would improve the vote share compared to the previous election. “In 2010, we won two seats. This time it may go up to 4 to 5,” he said. Mr. Radhakrishnan said that the ‘Modi factor’ had also worked to the party’s benefit this time along with its tie-up with the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam.