SEC notice to Pala municipality chairperson Maya Rahul, four councillors over anti-defection complaint

The State Election Commission has served an anti-defection notice on Pala Municipality Chairperson Maya Rahul and four former Congress councillors, asking them to appear for a hearing on September 22.

The notice was issued following complaints filed by the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Binu Pulickakandam, the independent councillor who is part of the UDF. The development comes ahead of the vice-chairperson election scheduled for September 16.

The complaint alleges that Maya Rahul and four councillors — Biju Mathews, Tony Thaiparambil, Lissykutty Mathew and Rajita Prakash — defied the Congress arrangement and voted to oust Diya Binu Pulickakandam, the former chairperson, with the support of the LDF.

The UDF subsequently lost control of the municipality. Maya, who had been the vice-chairperson with UDF support, later became chairperson with the backing of the LDF and the four councillors.

Ahead of the chairperson election, the Congress had expelled the four councillors from its primary membership. DCC President and Ettumanoor MLA Nattakom Suresh had earlier told Onmanorama that the UDF would lodge a complaint with the Election Commission over their actions.

Binu Pulickakandam told Onmanorama that the complaint seeks the disqualification of Maya and the four councillors. "The four councillors won with the Congress party symbol. Then they defected to the LDF and defied the party whip," he said.

Following the 2025 local body elections, the UDF entered into an alliance with the independent collective led by Binu Pulickakandam, his daughter Diya and his brother Biju Pulickakandam. Diya was subsequently elected chairperson, becoming the youngest municipal chairperson in the country.

The UDF alliance also included three Kerala Congress (Joseph) members, one Kerala Democratic Party (KDP) member and Maya Rahul. The LDF had 12 members — 10 from Kerala Congress (M) and two from the CPM.

Binu alleged that Maya had initially pledged her support to the UDF but later defied the agreement and joined hands with the LDF to oust the UDF from power. He said he had sufficient evidence to present his case before the Election Commission.

"I have around 19 pieces of evidence and witnesses with me. They won with Congress and UDF support and have now turned against us," he said, adding that disqualification could prevent them from contesting elections for six years.

Chairperson Maya Rahul was not immediately available for comment.

Regarding the vice-chairperson election, Binu said the UDF would definitely field a candidate despite not having the numbers to win. "But we will contest. The UDF will decide on this soon," he said.

Meanwhile, the LDF is also discussing possible candidates, though no decision has been taken yet.