Jose Puthankala of the Kerala Congress (M) was elected vice-president of the Kottayam district panchayat on Thursday. He succeeds Shubesh Sudhakaran of the Communist Party of India, who stepped down from the post recently in line with a power-sharing agreement in the Left Democratic Front.
Mr. Puthankala bagged 14 votes while the rival candidate, Reji M. Philipose of the United Democratic Front, received just seven votes. The lone BJP member in the panchayat abstained from voting.
Mr. Puthenkala, who represents the Kaduthuruthy division, is one of the five KC(M) members in the 22-member district panchayat. As per a power-sharing within the LDF, the party is now slated to hold the post for the next couple of years.
