UDF’s Sabira Jaleel after being elected as Chairperson of Thodupuzha Municipal Corporation on Friday. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Following an internal dispute in the Congress over the selection of the municipal chairman, the United Democratic Front (UDF) handed over the position to the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Thodupuz.
According to sources, the decision followed deepening infighting among the 10 members of the Congress. The Congress has 10 councilors and eight for the IUML in the municipality. On Friday, the UDF announced IUML’s Sabira Jaleel as its candidate for chairperson. During the municipal elections, Ms. Jaleel secured the seat by 22 votes. Her opponents Sreeja Rajesh of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Kavitha Aji of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) received nine and six votes respectively. Two independent councilors supported the UDF while one independent abstained.
Under the UDF’s new power-sharing deal, Ms Jaleel will serve as chairperson for the next two years. The Kerala Congress faction (Joseph) will then hold the post for one year, followed by a Congress councilor for the last two years.
On Friday, election day, the rift within Congress deepened. During a parliamentary party meeting on the same day, UDF block president Shibli Sahib announced that Litty Joseph would be the future president of the Congress for the coming term and even collected the signatures of the councilors to formalize the decision. However, District Congress Committee (DCC) president CP Mathew protested and ordered that the entry be corrected.
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Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary and Congress councilor Nisha Soman, who was the party’s original candidate for the post, said she would lodge a formal complaint with the state committee. Ms. Soman alleged that the block president was following a personal agenda.
While the UDF has a strong majority with 19 seats (including one support from Independents) in the 35-member council, internal divisions have prevented the party from reaching a consensus on a candidate from its own ranks.
The crisis became highly visible when posters, allegedly by “Congress workers”, appeared all over Thodupuzha town criticizing the leadership and demanding a chairman who would not act as a “stamp”.
To temporarily resolve the issue, the UDF invoked the previously discussed “oral agreement” that allowed the IUML to lead the council for an initial period.
In Kattappana village, UDF nominee Joy Vettikkuzhi was selected as the village president. Mr Vettikkuzhi got 20 votes while LDF candidate VR Saji got 13 votes. Two councilors of the National Democratic Alliance abstained from voting.
Published – 26 Dec 2025 20:15 IST
