The six-year-long indefinite agitation launched by local residents seeking the closure of the Ambayathode-based poultry waste rendering unit has now spilled onto the electoral arena, with the action committee fielding its chairman Kudukkil Babu, who is currently wanted by the police and faces a lookout notice, as a candidate under the banner of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Mr. Babu’s submission of nomination papers has further intensified debates over the ongoing police action targeting those involved in the mass protest that turned violent on the factory premises on October 21. So far, the police have arrested 24 protesters and are continuing their search for more than 100 other suspects, who are allegedly having direct involvement in the incident.
With the support of the action committee, Mr. Babu is contesting from ward number 11 of the Thamarassery grama panchayat. Another action committee leader, P.A. Anilkumar, a former panchayat member, is also in the fray as an IUML candidate representing the committee’s demands.
The action committee members are now aggressively campaigning for the victory of these two candidates, amid allegations from a section of their rival party workers that the IUML is capitalising on public sentiment against the waste treatment factory.
However, IUML leaders in the area claim that their candidates have the backing of all political parties. They also argue that the entry of their nominees into the local body poll is part of a larger, ongoing protest for a common public cause.
Search intensified
Meanwhile, the police have intensified their search for Mr. Babu who went into hiding after the submission of the nomination papers. The police officers associated with the probe said he submitted the nomination papers secretly with the support of a local IUML leader who has since been taken into custody for interrogation. They also made it clear that the ongoing election campaign would in no way give him immunity to the already initiated legal action.
At the same time, Thampi Parakandathil, chief patron of the action committee, said the decision to field two candidates in the local body election was a strategic step aimed at ensuring political support for closing the “polluting“ rendering unit. He stated that the IUML had been offering unconditional support to the residents’ struggle by allotting two seats in the Thamarassery panchayat to the action committee. According to him, residents across four grama panchayats—Kodenchery, Kattippara, Thamarassery and Omassery—are now part of the election campaign for the already fielded candidates raising their demands. “What we seek is the permanent closure of the polluting waste recycling business through the election of new local administrators,” he said.
Published – November 24, 2025 05:42 pm IST
