In Thrikkakara municipality—a United Democratic Front (UDF) stronghold since its days as a panchayat—the Congress is often its own worst enemy.
In the three elections since it was elevated into a municipality, the Congress-led UDF has emerged as the single largest front but has rarely enjoyed a smooth tenure, except in 2010 when it secured a simple majority. In 2015, the UDF won 21 seats against the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) 20 in the 43-member council. However, it could remain in power for only about a year as the LDF managed to seize control with the support of two Independents, who were Congress rebels, and later by persuading UDF councillor Sheela Charu to defect, though she was subsequently disqualified.
In the outgoing council, despite lacking a clear majority, the UDF managed to stay in power for the full term by securing majority with the support of Independents, all of whom had contested as Congress rebels. However, internal strife plagued the Congress and its sole ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Ajitha Thankappan of the ‘I’ group, who was appointed chairperson for the first half of the term as per an intra-party agreement, initially refused to step down for Radhamani Pillai of the ‘A’ group for the latter half. The District Congress Committee had to step in with threats of disciplinary action to ensure compliance. Ms. Thankappan’s tenure was marred by the ‘Onam gift’ scandal, in which councillors were allegedly given ₹10,000 each in cash, leading to a probe by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. Later, IUML’s vice-chairperson A.A. Ibrahimkutty was ousted after three of his party members strategically voted against him in a no-confidence motion moved by the LDF.
Amid these setbacks, the UDF scored a politically significant victory when its candidate Uma Thomas won the 2022 Thrikkakara Assembly byelection with a thumping majority of 25,016 votes and a vote share of 53.76%, defeating LDF’s Jo Joseph. The election followed the death of Ms. Thomas’s husband and sitting MLA P.T. Thomas. The result was chastising for the LDF, which had mounted a high-profile campaign led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Hibi Eden, the UDF candidate for the Ernakulam Lok Sabba constituency, which includes Thrikkakara municipality, reinforced that momentum in the general election held two years later, securing a lead of around 15,000 votes in the municipality alone.
Squabbles in LDF
Things are far from smooth in the LDF camp ahead of the upcoming election. Seat-sharing talks have come to standstill due to a dispute between the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Communist Party of India (CPI) over two wards. While the CPI claims dominance in those newly delimited wards, CPI(M) insists on contesting based on winnability.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans to contest all seats though it remains a fringe player in the municipality, having never won a single seat. Twenty20, an outfit backed up Kitex Group, is planning to field candidates in all wards.
Published – November 11, 2025 06:51 pm IST
