Bindu Pradeep of the BJP was elected president of the Chennithala Thripperunthura grama panchayat in Alappuzha on Tuesday. Six Congress members abstained from voting.
Ms. Pradeep polled seven votes, including six of the BJP and one Independent. CPI(M) candidate Vijayamma Philendran got four votes. The vote of a CPI(M) member was declared invalid.
It was the third election in the last four months to the post of the president of the panchayat after no political front won a clear majority in the local body polls held in December 2020. In the local body elections, both the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won six seats each in the 18-member council. The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front got five seats, including an LDF Independent. A UDF rebel who fought the polls as an Independent candidate secured one seat.
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Following the polls, Ms. Philendran was elected president of the grama panchayat on December 30 with the support of the UDF members. The post of president in the local body is reserved for Scheduled Caste woman. As the UDF did not have a Scheduled Caste woman member, its members had then voted for Ms. Philendran.
Cong. support declined
The CPI (M), which was averse to accepting the support of the Congress, however, asked her to resign from the post. She tendered her resignation in February. In the second election held in March, Ms. Philendran got elected again to the post with UDF support. However, immediately after her election, she resigned for a second time.
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Earlier, the BJP had come to power in the Pandanad and Kodamthuruth grama panchayats in the district after the 2020 local body polls.
Chennithala Thripperunthura is the home panchayat of Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. Mr. Chennithala and his family members were voters there. They recently transferred their votes to Haripad municipality.