Congress clinches Naranganam panchayat president's post after CPM defection

In a dramatic turn of events, the Congress party has clinched the president's post in the Naranganam panchayat in Pathanamthitta district, thanks to crucial cross-voting by a CPM member. Congress candidate VP Manoj Kumar secured seven votes against the six votes polled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate.

The local body had been locked in a stalemate with the Congress and the BJP holding six seats each in the 14-member council, while the CPM held two. In the recent voting, Sheejamol, one of the two CPM representatives, went against her party's stance and voted for the Congress candidate. Meanwhile, the other CPM representative and standing committee chairperson, Anu Anthyalankavu (Abraham Thomas), abstained from voting, tipping the scales in favour of the Congress.

Following this breach of party discipline, CPM district secretary Raju Abraham announced that Sheejamol had been expelled from the primary membership of the party. Sheejamol, however, declined to comment on the party's disciplinary action. The political landscape in Naranganam has been highly volatile since the local body elections. Initially, with both major fronts tied at six seats each and the CPM abstaining, the administration was decided by a draw of lots. This had placed BJP's VV Prasad as president and Jency Mathew as vice-president. However, the Congress recently introduced a no-confidence motion, which was passed with the backing of the CPM, leading to the fresh presidential election. This victory marks the second term for VP Manoj Kumar as Naranganam panchayat president, having previously held the post from 2010 to 2015, and the vice-president post from 1995 to 2000. He is also an executive member of the District Congress Committee (DCC).

The outcome has sparked sharp criticism from the opposition. BJP district president VA Sooraj condemned the developments, calling it dirty political manoeuvring orchestrated by the INDIA bloc. He alleged that the CPM and Congress had entered into an unholy alliance to capture power, which he described as an outright betrayal of the local electorate.