Some major losses include the UDF losing Oommen Chandy’s hometown, Puthupally, after 25 years, and Thiruvananthapuram Mayor losing to a BJP candidate.
The results of the 2020 Kerala Local Body Survey yielded some unlikely results in certain districts on Wednesday. While the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) scored a big victory in civic polls this year, all three fronts, the LDF, UDF and NDA, suffered some significant losses in certain districts. Here are some big losses from Kerala local body polls in 2020.
Kallamala neighborhood: The UDF, for example, was lost in the Kallamala district of the Vadakara Block Panchayat (Kozhikode). The loss is notable as Kallamala is the birthplace of the Congressional Leader and KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) Chairman Mulappally Ramachandran. In early December, Mulappally and the rest of the Congress party, especially MP K. Muraleedharan, had a fight over which candidate to run in this district. While the KPCC chairman chose his protégé KP Jayakumar as Kallamala’s candidate, the UDF chose Master C Sugathan, a candidate of his ally, the RMP Revolutionary Marxist Party. After a division of opinion within the party, Mulappally decided to withdraw the candidacy of KP Jayakumar in the district to face the candidate of the LDF in the district.
However, Wednesday’s results show that the LDF won Kallamala with CPI defender (M) Ashish securing the seat with 3,543 votes. UDF teacher Sugathan came in second after garnering 2,135 votes.
Thripperumthura ward: Meanwhile, in the Chennithala Thripperumthura grass panchayat in Alappuzha, the LDF won in Thripperumthura, which is the leader of the opposition in Kerala, the Ramesh Chennithala neighborhood. LDF candidate K Vinu won after obtaining 654 votes, while UDF candidate Arun Kuruvikad fell behind with 195 votes.
Puthuppally panchayat: In a massive defeat, the LDF seized the Puthuppally Panchayat from Kottayam from the UDF. It was the stronghold of the UDF for the last 25 years. Puthupally is also the hometown of the leader of Congress and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The LDF won seven divisions while the UDF won six and the BJP won three divisions. Two candidates backed by the LDF also won in the panchayat. In the 2015 local body elections, Congress swept Puthupally after winning 11 divisions in the panchayat.
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor K Sreekumar, Karikkakam Ward: While the LDF swept through most of the state, in the Karikkakam district of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, the LDF candidate and mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, K Sreekumar, lost to Kumaran Nair of the BJP. While Kumaran Nair got 24.88 votes, K Sreekumar got 2,372 votes.
S Suresh, Venganoor Division: The NDA suffered another blow in Thiruvananthapuram after BJP Secretary of State S Suresh was defeated in elections after competing from the Venganoor division of the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat. The senior leader of the BJP lost to Bhagat Rufus of LJD (Loktantrik Janata Dal).
S Suresh was defeated by more than 2,000 votes this time. In 2010 local agency polls, he also participated from the same seat and faced defeat. The loss is large for the BJP, as Venganoor is the only seat of the BJP in the panchayat of the Thiruvananthapuram block.
B Gopalakrishnan, Kuttankulangara Division: In Thrissur, the BJP state spokesman and the party’s mayoral candidate, B Gopalakrishnan, was defeated in local body polls. Gopalakrishnan had contested from the BJP seat in the Kuttankulangara division of Thrissur Municipal Corporation. The BJP had put forward crucial candidates, hoping for a victory by breaking the bipolar UDF-LDF policy. However, the NDA only secured six positions at Thrissur Corporation this year.
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