UDF man Erattupetta municipal chief

It is the third election held in three months

Marking an end to the administrative impasse in the Erattupetta municipality, V.M. Siraj of the United Democratic Front (UDF) was on Wednesday elected chairman of the civic body.

In the election held at the municipal office, Mr.Siraj polled 12 votes while his rival candidate, T.M.Rasheed, received no vote as all five votes polled in his favour were declared invalid. Besides the 11 members from the UDF, Mr.Siraj also received the vote of one of the two Kerala Janapaksham members in the council.

10 abstain

In the 28-member council, 10 members stayed away from the proceedings while Bilkis Navas, vice-chairperson who abstained from the previous election on October 16, was not permitted to vote.

The election on Wednesday followed an order by the Kerala High Court. Considering a petition filed by Mr. Rasheed, an LDF rebel who emerged winner in the previous election, the court directed to hold the election once again on November 13.

During the election on October 16, Mr.Rasheed got 12 votes against 11 polled by Mr.Siraj. Laila Pareeth, the candidate fielded by the Left Democratic Front, received three votes.

Cancelled

The election, however, was cancelled after the returning officer admitted to a procedural violation.

The civic body witnessed three elections since August after former chairman V.K. Kabeer resigned following a no-confidence motion moved by the UDF. Though Laila Pareeth of the LDF won the election held next month, she chose not to hold the seat as she had won with the support of the Social Democratic Party of India. Accordingly, Ms.Pareeth handed over her resignation letter minutes after taking the oath of office.

The delay in electing a chairman after Mr.Kabeer and divide among councillors over various issues had pushed the civic body administration into chaos.