The uncertainty that has engulfed the Kottayam municipality in the form of an infighting within the United Democratic Front-led council is finally culminating into a no-confidence motion against its chairperson Bincy Sebastian.
The motion, moved by the 22-member Left Democratic Front (LDF), is slated for discussion on September 24. Coming amidst a raging infighting between the municipal chairperson and the vice chairman, it presents the first major challenge to Nattakom Suresh, newly appointed president of the District Congress Committee.
While the chairperson has accused the LDF of attempting to sabotage administration of the civic body , the Opposition maintains that the motion is in line with a growing popular sentiment against the council.
“The Opposition has been preventing the council meetings right from the beginning and it now seeks to bring down the council by creating an unholy nexus with the BJP,” alleged Ms.Sebastian.
In the 52-member council, both the LDF and United Democratic Front have an equal number of seats with 22 members each, while the remaining eight members belong to the BJP. Considering that the motion requires the support of at least 27 members to pass, all eyes are now on the BJP’s stance.
The chairperson, who was selected through a draw of lots, appears to have faced more opposition from within her party than from the Opposition during the first nine months of her tenure. A section of the UDF councillors, led by vice chairman B.Gopakumar, came out in the open against Ms.Sebastian on more than one occasion during the period.
The LDF, on its part, has cashed in on the opportunity and accuses the chairperson of creating an administrative impasse in the civic body. To back the argument, it now points to a delay in the civic body receiving an approval from the District Planning Committee to its annual plans for the fiscal 2021- 2022.
Taking a serious note of the issue, Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, and the DCC leadership have kick-started efforts to settle the infighting within the UDF.
The party, however, appears hopeful that an alignment between the BJP and the Left parties is most unlikely.
