While the United Democratic Front (UDF) is all set to capture the administration of the Kannur Corporation with the support of independent councillor and Deputy Mayor P.K. Ragesh, who is expected to return to the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) chose to downplay the threat to the survival of Left Democratic Front’s control of the civic body.
Parleys to draw back Mr. Ragesh, who rebelled against the Congress leadership here, and on power-sharing between the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League in the remaining one-year term are said to be positive. In the 55-member Corporation council, where the UDF and the LDF have 27 seats each, the LDF had managed to capture corporation rule with the support of Mr. Ragesh. Having parted ways with the Congress following differences with his former mentor K. Sudhakaran, Mr. Ragesh was given Deputy Mayoral post as a quid pro quo.
Now the Congress and the IUML are learnt to have agreed to share the first and second parts respectively of the remaining one-year term of the civic body as Mr. Ragesh is expected to withdraw his support to the LDF and go back to the Congress. His return to the Congress means the fall of Mayor E.P. Latha of the CPI(M).
“We have no information on the reported decision of the Deputy Mayor,” said CPI(M) district secretary M.V. Jayarajan at a press meet here on Monday to announce the visit of Aleida Guevara March, the daughter of Ernesto Che Guevara, on August 1. Nowadays money power is playing a major role in political power game, he said adding that the CPI(M) did not think that Mr. Ragesh would leave the LDF.
Mr. Ragesh’s disconnect with the LDF surfaced in the wake of his public call to support Mr. Sudhakaran in the Lok Sabha election in the Kannur constituency. That marked the beginning of the thawing of the strained relations between Mr. Ragesh and the district Congress leadership. Despite the parleys, neither Mr. Ragesh nor the Congress leadership made any announcement in this regard.
