Kerala local body polls — Among winners: corporates, rebels

The candidates of the ‘twenty20’ have won the seats with a huge majority. Besides, its candidates contesting for district panchayat and block panchayats also won, sending a shock to the Congress.

The garment manufacturing unit floated the organisation twenty20 in 2013 mainly to take on the Congress-ruled panchayat which tried to thwart the developmental activities of the private firm, which has its units in the panchayat.

Kitex Group Managing Director Sabu Jacob said overall development of the panchayat is the agenda of the twenty20. “We have realized that gaining control of the panchayat is necessary to execute our developmental initiatives. The support we have gained in this election is recognition for the twenty20’s development agenda, said Jacob.

Similar electoral surprises have reported from elsewhere in Kerala. In Munnar hill station, candidates of women unity (Pembullai Orumai), an apolitical unity which had recently taken on estate owners without the support of political parties, has bagged a few seats in the Munnar village panchayats. Its leader Gomathy Augustine won the block panchayat from an estate division.

At East Eleri village panchayat in Kasaragode, a people’s movement formed by a Congress rebel shocked the political parties by gaining a majority in the panchayat.

Congress had sacked local leader James Panthammakkal over group rivalry. Panthammakkal formed a people’s movement and contested in 16 seats in the panchayat, where Congress had 15 members. His movement won 10 seats, while LDF got four and Congress two. The local movement won two seats in the block panchayat.

In two municipalities and in a village panchayat in Malappuram, peoples’ movement formed against the Indian Union Muslim League, an ally of Congress, gained majority. In some other village panchayats in the district, the non-Muslim League alliances have secured seats.

In Idukki district, Church-backed high range protection samithi has won 11 out of 30 seats in newly formed Kattappana municipality. The samithi was formed two years back to fight the anti-farmer elements in the Kasturirangan and Gadgil reports on Western Ghats. As political parties failed to address the issue, the samithi gained acceptance in the high ranges. In the last LS elections, its nominee Joyce George had contested as LDF backed candidate and won.