With the Kerala local body elections concluded and newly elected councillors taking charge, most district panchayats will follow a power-sharing arrangements agreed upon by the UDF and the LDF. In line with these agreements, the posts of president and vice-president will rotate among different members over the five-year term. The arrangement covers nine districts, with allied parties taking turns following the swearing-in on Saturday.

Kollam
The Kollam district panchayat will have a president from the CPI and a vice-president from the CPM for the first two years. The two parties will exchange the post during the next three years.

Kottayam
Joshy Philip of the Congress will be the president of the Kottayam district panchayat for the first four years. Josemon Mundakkal of the Kerala Congress will occupy the seat in the last one year.

Idukki
Prof Sheela Stephen of the Kerala Congress has taken oath as the president of the Idukki district panchayat, and she will be in the post during the first year. She will be subsequently replaced by Mini Sabu of the Congress, who will continue as president for four years.

Pathanamthitta
Three Congress members will share the president’s post in Pathanamthitta. While Deenamma Roy will occupy the seat during the first two years, M V Ambili and Neethu Mammen Kondoor will be the presidents for one-and-a-half years each. Meanwhile, the vice-president will be Aneesh Varikkannamala of the Congress for the first three years and Sam Eappen of the Kerala Congress for the last two years.

Ernakulam
K G Radhakrishnan of the Congress has been sworn in as the president, and he will continue for the entire five-year term. However, Zinta Jacob of the Congress, who has taken over as vice-president, will be replaced by Alphonsa Davis after two-and-a-half years.

Thrissur
Thrissur district panchayat will have a CPM president and a CPI vice-president for the first three years. The parties will exchange the posts during the last two years.

Kozhikode
The Congress and the IUML (Indian Union Muslim League) have agreed to share the president and vice-president posts for two-and-a-half years. Milli Mohan of the Congress will be the president and K K Nawaz of the IUML the vice-president during the first term. Subsequently, both parties will exchange the posts.

Wayanad
Wayanad district panchayat will have a Congress president and IUML vice-president for the first two-and-a-half years. Afterwards, the posts will be exchanged.

Kasaragod
According to the agreement in the LDF, the post of the vice-president will be occupied by a CPI member during the first three years. The next one year will have a vice-president from the Kerala Congress (M) and the last year from the CPM.

Know your president
The members who took oath as the presidents of the 14 district panchayats in the state are:

Thiruvananthapuram:
V Priyadarshini (50) – CPM
Winning from the Kallambalam division of Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat this time, V Priyadarshini had been elected from Manambur division in 2020. She has worked as Varkala area secretary and district committee member of AIDWA (All-India Democratic Women’s Association), district committee member of Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad and resource person of Suchitwa Mission – Haritha Keralam Mission.

Kollam:
R Lathadevi (62) – CPI
A member of the CPI’s state council, R Lathadevi was an MLA from Chadayamangalam during 1996-2001. In the recent local body election, she won from Chadayamangalam division with a margin of 5,133 votes. Lathadevi is the wife of the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, G R Anil.

Alappuzha:
A Mahendran (58) – CPM
The positions currently occupied by A Mahendran include, district secretariat member of the CPM, state committee member and district treasurer of the CITU, Chairman of Alleppey Cooperative Spinning Mill and state jail advisory board member. He was earlier the district secretary of the DYFI (Democratic Youth Federation of India), Chettikulangara panchayat president and Mavelikara block panchayat vice-president.

Kottayam:
Joshy Philip (55) – Congress
Joshy Philip has taken over as district panchayat president for the second time. Joshy, who occupied the post during the first term of 2015-20, had resigned after he was appointed as the president of the DCC (District Congress Committee). He is currently a general secretary of the KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee).

Pathanamthitta:
Deenamma Roy (63) – Congress
Deenamma Roy has been the state advisory committee member of Mahila Congress, Konni block committee member of the Congress and board member of Konni Agricultural Rural Improvement Society. She was earlier a standing committee chairperson in Konni panchayat and Mahila Congress district vice-president.

Idukki:
Sheela Stephen (60) – Kerala Congress
A former president of the district panchayat, Prof Sheela Stephen is currently president of Kerala Vanitha Congress and a member of the high-power committee of the Kerala Congress. She is also a retired principal of BCM College, Kottayam. Prof Sheela will be the district panchayat president for the first one year under a post-sharing agreement in UDF.

Ernakulam:
K G Radhakrishnan (47) – Congress
K G Radhakrishnan contested for the first time in district panchayat this year. He was earlier the president of the Muvattupuzha block panchayat and a block panchayat member for 10 years. He entered politics through KSU (Kerala Students’ Union) and went on to become Kalloorkad mandalam president of the Youth Congress, Kalloorkad mandalam secretary and Bharatiya Dalit Congress district president and state general secretary.

Thrissur:
Mary Thomas (67) – CPM
The most senior elected member of the Thrissur district panchayat, Mary Thomas is a district committee member of the CPM and state general secretary of the Democratic Women’s Association. She was the district panchayat president in 2017-20 also. Other positions held by Mary Thomas include president and vice-president of Thekkumkara panchayat. She contested for the Assembly from Wadakkancherry in 2016.

Palakkad:
T M Sasi (45) – CPM
A district secretariat member of the CPM, T M Sasi secured his maiden election victory this time. He is the district president of the Kerala Sports Council and Headload and General Workers’ Union (CITU). Earlier, Sasi was district president and secretary of the DYFI.

Malappuram:
P A Jabbar Haji (60) – IUML
Belonging to Elamaram in Vazhakkad, P A Jabbar Haji is a state working committee member and Kondotty mandalam president of the IUML. He ventured into politics through Youth League and was a trade union leader in Gwalior Rayons, Mavoor. Jabbar Haji was the Kondotty block panchayat president during 2010-15 and is currently chairman of Muhammedali Shihab Thangal Memorial Dialysis Centre, Kondotty.

Kozhikode:
Milli Mohan (58) – Congress
A retired higher secondary school teacher, Milli Mohan was a district panchayat member during 2005-10. She has worked as Mahila Congress state advisory committee member, Vanitha Sahakarana Sangham president, KPCC executive committee member, Mahila Congress state general secretary and District Bank director.

Wayanad:
Chandrika Krishnan (57) – Congress
Currently the district secretary of Mahila Congress and Muttil mandalam vice-president of the Congress, Chandrika Krishnan is a former member of Muttil grama panchayat. She is also the president of the Kalpetta block panchayat which completed its term this year.

Kannur:
Binoy Kurien (48) – CPM
A district committee member of the CPM, Binoy Kurien contested for the first time at the age of 27 in 2005 and won from the Iritty division of the district panchayat with a margin of 16,000 votes. In 2016, he was the LDF candidate in Peravoor for the Assembly election. Kurien became the vice-president of the district panchayat in 2020 and also held positions such as district secretary and state vice-president of SFI (Students’ Federation of India), district president, secretary and state committee member of DYFI and Iritty area secretary of the CPM.

Kasaragod:
Sabu Abraham (54) – CPM
Sabu Abraham registered his debut election victory at the age of 24 to the block panchayat and contested for the first time for the district panchayat in 2025. He has occupied positions such as Calicut University Union general secretary, district president and secretary of SFI, DYFI and CITU, West Elery Cooperative Bank president and Kerala Bank director board member. At present, Sabu is a district secretariat member of the CPM and district secretary of CITU.