All eyes are on the outcome of polls at Navaikulam, Anad, Palode, Poovachal and Parassala divisions of the district panchayat due to the high profile nature of candidates put up by the Left Democratic Front and United Democratic Front in these divisions.
The LDF has fielded former district panchayat vice-president B.P. Murali in Navaikulam and former Education standing committee chairman V.K. Madhu in Palode as potential candidates for the president’s post. The UDF on its part has fielded the outgoing president Ansajitha Ressal in Poovachal, Public Works standing committee chairman in the outgoing council Anad Jayan in Anad, and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee member Valsalan in Parassala.
A silent campaign is on in these divisions by the respective fronts seeking votes by giving out discreet message to people that they are voting for a potential candidate who would run the affairs of the district panchayat for the next five years. A win for any of these candidates would make it easy for the fronts in deciding the president. However, a likely tussle would emerge in the UDF camp if all three of their possible president candidates emerge victorious, taking into account past power struggles, particularly between ‘A’ and ‘I’ factions. Of three UDF candidates, the entry of Ms. Ressal, who is seeking re-election from Poovachal, in the last minute, was a bit surprising as till her entry Anad Jayan was considered the lone nominee of ‘A’ group.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ms. Ressal, as nominee of the ‘A’ faction, had taken over the reins of midway during the last district panchayat’s period and the talk among Congress circles was that she would keep away from the polls this time. But she made a surprise entry on the last day of filing nominations. The party, however, maintains that she is made to contest as Poovachal division has a sizable Nadar Christian population, to which she belongs, and the party was made to rethink after the LDF announced a member from the community.