Five of the six corporations in the state will be governed by LDF candidates, with Kannur the only one in which Congress will govern.
Arya Rajendran was sworn in as mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Monday, making her the youngest person to serve. The 21-year-old from the CPI (M) was elected councilor of Mudavanmugal. Arya, who is a B.Sc. A sophomore at All Saints College, she told the media that she will continue her studies in addition to handling the responsibilities as mayor of the city. PK Raju of the Communist Party of India (CPI) was sworn in as Deputy Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
In Kollam, Prassanna Earnest of the CPI (M) was sworn in as mayor. This is his second term as mayor of Kollam. After the swearing-in ceremony, he told the media that his ambition is to make Kollam the best city corporation in the state.
CPI (M) attorney M Anil Kumar was sworn in as mayor of Ernakulam Corporation, which can be considered the wealthiest corporation in the state. The Left Front snatched the Corporation from the United Democratic Front (UDF), and problems such as stagnant water after the rains, congested roads, the deployment of waste will be a great challenge for the new mayor.
In Thrissur, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) took a surprise by swearing in the rebel leader of Congress VK Varghese as mayor. Varghese, who was an army officer, was with Congress after his retirement and when the party did not consider him for the seat, he prevailed independently and won. Varghese will serve as mayor for a two-year term and then a CPI (M) leader will take office for the remaining three years.
In Kozhikode, retired CPI (M) professor Beena Philip was sworn in as mayor. She told the media that she wanted to make Kozhikode a world-class city, adding that she will work in unison with everyone who crosses party lines to achieve this goal.
In Kannur, the only corporation where Congress won the mayor’s office, party leader TO Mohanan was sworn in as mayor. Mohanan said he will strive to make Kannur the handloom capital of the country. It should be noted that Kannur has the maximum number of weavers and significant exports are taking place in the sector.
However, in the municipalities of Palakkad and Pandalam, which were won by the BJP, there was disagreement over leadership and it was only at the last minute that an understanding was reached. Following the intervention of senior leaders, K Priya was elected president of Palakkad and Suseela Santhosh in Pandalam.
(With IANS input)
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