Kochi: Putting an end to days of uncertainty and heated discussions following the local body poll results, the United Democratic Front (UDF) has officially announced four-time councillor and Mahila Congress State Vice President V K Minimol as its candidate for the Kochi Corporation Mayor.

Addressing the media in Kochi on Tuesday evening after a core committee meeting, District Congress Committee (DCC) President Mohammed Shiyas announced that V K Minimol, who won from Palarivattom division, will lead the corporation for the first half of the tenure. Deepak Joy, councillor from Ayyappankavu and Youth Congress all-India coordinator, has been named the Deputy Mayor candidate.

According to the decision taken by the party's core committee, the leadership will follow a term-sharing agreement. Minimol and Joy will hold their respective posts for the first two and a half years. For the remaining term, Shiny Mathew, who is Fort Kochi councillor, is slated to take over as Mayor, with Ernakulam South councillor KVP Krishnakumar serving as Deputy Mayor.

Internal rift surfaces
Despite securing a historic majority in the local body polls, the Congress was unable to finalise the mayoral choice without triggering controversy. Deepthi Mary Varghese, a KPCC General Secretary and a prominent name in the race, has approached KPCC President Sunny Joseph with a complaint, alleging she was sidelined by a faction of leaders, including the DCC President.

For the past few days, political circles in Kochi were abuzz with speculation about the mayoral candidate, with Deepthi Mary Varghese considered a frontrunner. The competition between Varghese, Minimol and Mathew was a headache for the Congress.

However, the outcome had begun to take shape at the Congress councillors’ meeting on Monday evening. Varghese, who is aligned with the K C Venugopal faction, appeared to be losing ground as the discussions progressed. At least 17 councillors from the ‘I’ group threw their weight behind Minimol, while Shiny Mathew garnered the backing of no fewer than 20 councillors from the ‘A’ group, effectively pushing Varghese to the margins. However, her exclusion has sparked allegations that key party norms were disregarded.

Reacting to the announcement, Deepthi Mary Varghese expressed her dissatisfaction with the process, stating that the district leadership violated specific KPCC guidelines. She confirmed that she has reported these violations to the KPCC President over a phone call.

"Whatever decision the KPCC has taken, I would obey that and I have no complaints. But certain norms have been violated by the district leadership while taking the decision," Varghese said.

She pointed out that standard procedure requires disputes over the Mayoral post to be referred to the state leadership. "If there is a dispute over who the mayor is, the matter should be left for KPCC's decision. It was not done. Otherwise, an observer should decide. Instead of an observer, former GCDA chairman M Venugopal and former minister Dominic Presentation oversaw the meeting in the presence of DCC President. Also, there was a KPCC circular that KPCC members should have priority," she added.

When asked to elaborate on the alleged violations, she directed the responsibility to the state chief. "I agree with whatever decision the KPCC has taken. Let the KPCC President say why this decision was taken. He would be aware of all the decisions," Varghese said.

Leadership denies discord
DCC President Mohammed Shiyas, however, dismissed the allegations of discord and completely denied reports that Deepthi Mary Varghese was ever actively considered for the Mayor's post. He maintained that the selection was a collective choice. 

Emphasising Minimol’s long experience as a four-time councillor, Shiyas also said the selected candidates had the capability to carry forward the city’s development agenda and strengthen its welfare programmes.

"It was a unanimous decision by the core committee. Meetings of corporation-level and district-level core committees were held and their decisions were discussed with the Opposition leader, who is in charge of Ernakulam," Shiyas said.

He further defended the selection process, citing adherence to party protocols. "There were many criteria, including experience, for finalising the decision. We followed all norms of KPCC in finalising who should be the mayor and deputy mayor," he said.

Meanwhile, sources within the party said that many, including Ernakulam MP, MLA and DCC President, were not reportedly happy with the ‘way’ Varghese has been functioning as a leader. This has led to not considering her for the mayoral post in the final meeting.

Addressing the media, mayoral candidate Minimol said she was committed to delivering governance that meets public expectations. Expressing confidence in her administrative abilities, she noted that her previous stints as chairperson of the health and works standing committees would help her ensure effective governance. 

However, she refrained from commenting on Varghese being overlooked for the mayor’s post, saying that all leaders would stand by the party’s decision. On the question of split terms on mayoral post, she said the focus should be on how effectively the tenure is utilised rather than its duration. 

Meanwhile, reports indicated that Shiny Mathew, in addition to being a well-known figure in Kochi, drew strong backing from the Latin Catholic community, which had actively campaigned in her favour. She had earlier been in the race for the mayor’s post but was edged out by Soumini Jain when the UDF last assumed power in 2015. Mathew was expecting to get the first two and a half years as the mayor but the party decided to give first chance to Minimol.