A young councillor of the city Corporation who had to vacate his seat lamented at a recent council meeting: “You sweat it out in the ward from which you were elected for five years, and in the end, you have to vacate the councillor’s seat in the next elections, as it has now become a reserved ward. It is highly unfair to us. Why aren’t they implementing such reservation for Assembly constituencies?”
So, how do these councillors get around it and retain their stronghold on the ward? At least some of them have found a way. They have fielded their wives, daughters and daughters-in-law, and husbands, in cases of a reserved ward becoming a general ward.
Out of the six councillors of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), three are fielding their wives in their sitting wards and two of them are contesting in other wards.
All in the family
M.R. Gopan vacated the Ponnumangalam ward, where his wife Sindhu Gopan is contesting. He is contesting Nemom ward. Councillor M.R. Rajeev vacated the Nettayam ward, where his wife Singhu Rajeev is contesting. He has moved to the Vazhottukonam ward.
Congress Councillor P. Sasikumaran Nair’s daughter will be contesting the Manacaud ward this time. At the Sasthamangalam ward, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary K.P. Kunhikannan’s daughter-in-law Veena S. Nair is the Congress candidate.
In the Thampanoor ward, sitting councillor R. Harikumar’s wife Biju Harikumar is contesting. In fact, the Thampanoor and the adjacent Secretariat ward have been shared between them since 2000.
Communist Party of India’s Aisha Backer, daughter of former Mayor Palayam Backer, will be contesting the Palayam ward. She is facig Shirley, daughter of former Congress MP A. Charles.
At Attipra, which has now become a general ward, Shobha Sivadutt who won the recent by-elections will vacate the ward. Her husband will contest the ward.
