Riding on support from the parties in the Opposition, the Janapaksham on Monday wrested power in the Poonjar and Poonjar Thekkekara grama panchayats from the Left Democratic Front.
Prasad Thomas, a candidate fielded by the Janapaksham, was elected president of the Poonjar panchayat on Monday. He got six votes, including three votes from the Congress, as against five votes polled by Ramesh B. Vettimattom, the CPI(M) nominee and the outgoing president.
The two BJP members, who had earlier supported a no-confidence motion against the former president, abstained from voting.
Now, the Janapaksham will hold both the president and vice-president’s post in the 13-member local body council. Leelamma Chacko of Janapaksham was elected vice-president on November 26. The CPI(M) has five members in the local body while the Janapaksham and the Congress has three members each.
On Monday, Tessy Biju of the Janapaksham was elected vice president of the Poonjar Thekkekara panchayat. In the 14-member council, she got eight votes against five polled by LDF candidate T.S. Snehadhanan.
The president’s post at the local body is held by the Janapaksham. The two local bodies were earlier ruled by the LDF with the support of the Janapaksham based on a power-sharing agreement.
Sabarimala issue
The differences between the CPI(M) and the Janapaksham came to the fore when the P.C. George-led outfit withdrew support to the LDF over the Sabarimala issue. The Janapaksham also nurses grievances against the CPI(M) for its concerted attack against the Poonjar Cooperative Service Society.
