LDF candidate T. Mayadevi interacting with voters in Gandhi Nagar division. | Photo credit: RK Nithin
Kochi Corporation’s Gandhi Nagar division has been a stronghold of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), according to the electoral history of the division.
More than four decades have passed since the division last slipped out of LDF control. The closest it came in recent times was the United Democratic Front (UDF) in 2020, when its candidate lost to the eventual winner KK Sivan, the CITU leader in the city, by just 115 votes. So, when a by-election was called the very next year after Mr. Sivan’s death after a long battle with COVID-19, the UDF felt it had an opening.
UDF candidate Nirmala Rajappan is campaigning in Gandhi Nagar division ahead of local body elections. | Photo credit: RK Nithin
That a victory would further destabilize the LDF ruling committee, which was already surviving on a thin sliver, served as an additional incentive. But not only did the UDF lose the election, LDF candidate Bindu Sivan also increased her majority to 687 votes, almost six times more than her late husband managed.
NDA candidate KS Sandhya addressing voters in Gandhi Nagar division as part of election campaign. | Photo credit: RK Nithin
It is this history that gives CPI(M) debutante candidate T. Mayadevi, Ernakulam area committee member of the party committee and All India Democratic Women’s Association district committee member confidence as she faces these elections. Development remains a focus of her campaign. “Both the LDF council in the corporation and the LDF government have done considerable development work from which this division has also benefited. Samridhi@Kochi, She Lodge and housing projects are a few examples. I have issued a manifesto for the division focusing on the needs of the common people. The priorities are to address deficiencies in road development and drainage, improve facilities for the elderly and for children rather than dependent children, and create an outdoor playground for children.
Congress candidate Nirmala Rajappan, popularly known as Teacher Nirmala, is also making her electoral debut. She believes Congress is going all out this time, giving her hope for a strong contest. Ms. Rajappan alleged that the LDF’s victory in the last by-election was due to vote rigging. “Underdevelopment in the division remains the focus of my campaign. One needs to see the situation in places like Kammattipadam to understand how bad it is. A single spell of showers leaves many areas waterlogged and floods even households,” she said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate KS Sandhya, secretary of the party’s Ernakulam mandalam committee, unsuccessfully contested from the division a decade ago and finished third. “In the ten years since I last competed, nothing has changed in the division. Apart from the roads maintained with central funds under the Cochin Smart Mission Limited, other roads remain in a deplorable state. Piles of garbage are seen everywhere and drains remain clogged. When we meet them, we sense a real desire for change among the people,” she said.
Gandhi Nagar remains one of the largest in the corporation by area. The delimitation has changed little except for the loss of a negligible portion with the neighboring Elamkulam division and this division has nearly 8,000 voters.
Published – 02 Dec 2025 20:28 IST
