Thiruvananthapuram: K Sreekumar of the LDF has been elected as the new Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. He represents the Chakka ward in the corporation council and is the health standing committee chairperson. Sreekumar is a member of the CPM Vanchiyoor area committee.
The Mayor’s post had fallen vacant after V K Prasanth successfully contested the Assembly byelection from Vattiyoorkavu seat.
Sreekumar defeated UDF’s D Anil Kumar and BJP’s M R Gopan in the Mayor’s election held at the Council Hall on Tuesday. While Anil Kumar is the councillor from Pettah, Gopan represents the Nemom ward.
With three candidates in the fray and no clear majority for any front, two rounds of voting took place to elect the Mayor. The results of the first round showed that Sreekumar came first, followed by Gopan and Anil Kumar. The UDF candidate, who finished third, was excluded from the second round of voting which saw a direct contest between Sreekumar and Gopan.
In the first round, 99 of the total 100 councillors voted. Sreekumar received 42 votes, Gopan 35 and Anil Kumar 20. Three votes became invalid and they were cast by Congress councillor C Omana, BJP member Jyothy Satheesh and independent councillor N S Latha Kumari. The independent had not marked her choice.
The second round results showed that the LDF candidate had secured 42 votes while the BJP’s aspirant had polled 34 votes and Sreekumar was declared the winner.
In the 100-member Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, LDF has a strength of 43, BJP 35, UDF 21 and independent one.
