Kazhakuttam, a blow to LDF

For both the councillors of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the news of the State government’s plan to carve out the Kazhakuttam municipality from the Corporation area came as a surprise, as there has been virtually no consultation before such a move.

With the local body elections slated for September, it is being seen as a move by the UDF to wrest control of the Corporation, which has been eluding them for along time now. Out of the 12 wards that are expected to be cut away from the Corporation, eight are being held by the LDF, three by the UDF and one by an Independent.

The wards held by the LDF are Kattayikkonam, Chellamangalam, Powdikkonam, Njandoorkonam, Attipra, Pallithura, Poundkadavu, and Kulathoor. The UDF wards are Kazhakuttam, Chanthavila, and Chempazhanthi and the independent ward is Sreekaryam.

In the 100-member Corporation council, the LDF has 51 seats, the UDF 42, and the BJP six. The ruling combine often had to depend on the BJP’s support to get things passed in the council.

The nine wards which the LDF stands to lose have been traditional Left strongholds, while the urban wards have tended to fluctuate through successive elections.

Many see this as a payback for the delimitation exercise by the LDF government before the previous local body elections, when many of these wards that used to be part of panchayats were added to the Corporation, to ensure Left rule.

‘Downgraded’

But one thing that sources point out is that this is the first time that wards have been ‘downgraded’ from Corporation to municipality.

“It always happens the other way, when a panchayat or a municipality ward is added to the nearby Corporation, to step up its status to a tier-I or tier-II city based on population,” says the source.

The move could face legal hurdles as according to the recommendations of the Fourth State Finance Commission, the boundaries of civic body divisions should be redrawn only once in a decade and also that the process should be completed a year ahead of the civic polls. It remains to be seen whether the LDF will use this to counter the government’s move.