Sharp dissent has surfaced within the Congress over the selection of the municipal chairperson for the Thodupuzha municipality, where the party won with a good margin of seats in the local body election.
During the election campaign, the party had projected Nisha Soman for the chairperson’s post. However, in a sudden shift, nine out of the 10 Congress councillors submitted a letter to the District Congress Committee (DCC) and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) presidents demanding the appointment of Litty Joseph as the chairperson of the municipality.
The rift became public as posters appeared across Thodupuzha town. Attributed to “Congress workers”, the posters alleged that the municipality does not need a “rubber stamp” chairperson and criticised the proposed leadership change.
A senior Congress leader stated that a UDF meeting on Wednesday evening would finalise a solution. “The party is considering whether Ms Soman will serve as chairperson for this term or a subsequent one,” the leader said.
In the local body election, UDF gained power in Kattappana municipality with 20 seats, and LDF got 12 seats. In Thodupuzha municipality, LDF won only three seats, and UDF won 19 seats. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won nine seats. The political numbers in the 34-member Thodupuzha municipality remains delicate. Following the 2020 local body elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) won 13 seats, the UDF won 12, and the BJP secured eight, while a Congress rebel running as an independent won one seat. The LDF originally seized power in 2020 by awarding the chairmanship to the Independent Congress rebel, Saneesh George.
Meanwhile, the UDF has finalised leadership for the Kattappana municipality in the district. UDF district chairman Joy Vettikkuzhi has been selected as the chairperson, with Leelamma Baby as vice-chairperson. According to party sources, Mr. Vettikkuzhi will serve for the next three years, after which another candidate will be selected to complete the term.
Published – December 24, 2025 08:07 pm IST
