The city Corporation is set for further churn with the chairpersons of three CPI(M)-controlled standing committees stepping down with immediate effect on Monday.
The development is widely seen as closely linked to the power struggle among CPI(M) councillors. In an unexpected move, R. Geetha Gopal (representing the Muttada ward), S. Shafeera Beegum (Ponnumangalam), and S. Unnikrishnan (Aranoor), who led the standing committees on welfare, public works, and education and sports, submitted their resignations to the Corporation secretary by evening.
They will be forwarded to the State Election Commission on Tuesday, setting the ball rolling for elections to the positions. Despite the party not having publicly declared a post-poll arrangement for a change of guard at the standing committees midway through the five-year term, the CPI(M) district leadership claimed otherwise. It maintained there had been a general understanding in this regard.
CPI(M) district secretary Anavoor Nagappan insisted that the resignations were nothing out of the ordinary. “The three councillors have submitted their resignations on the direction of the party. We had earlier decided that the three particular posts would be shared for a period of two-and-a-half years each,” he said.
However, sources privy to the development claimed that the performance of the resignees weighed heavily in the party’s decision. It is being claimed that they apparently failed in highlighting the achievements of existing projects in the respective fields and staving off allegations levelled against them by the opposition parties.
Criticisms
Criticisms were also rife that they had limited their responsibilities to implementing Centre and State-funded schemes.
Interestingly, the party refrained from taking a similar call on two other CPI (M) councillors Vanchiyoor P. Babu and K. Sreekumar, who led the development and health standing committees. While they also had come under fire for alleged lapses, it is being claimed that they managed to hold on to their positions with the backing of dominant groups within the party’s district leadership.
The development comes close on the heels of Congress (S) councillor Palayam Rajan replacing R. Satheeshkumar of the Kerala Congress (Scaria Thomas) as the chairman of the town planning standing committee.
