Rebel wave sweeps Kottayam and Pathanamthitta

As the nomination withdrawal window drew to a close on Monday, a rebel wave has hit Kottayam and Pathanamthitta, leaving major fronts firefighting internal mutiny instead of facing their real rivals.

In Pathanamthitta, rebel candidates have surfaced across key municipalities and panchayats, including Pathanamthitta, Adoor and Thiruvalla, as well as several local bodies such as Ezhamkulam, Pazhavangadi, Ranni, Naranamoozhi, Vechoochira and Konni. The list of rebels includes branch and area committee members of the CPI(M), along with block- and ward-level office bearers of the Congress.

Among the prominent rebel candidates are M. Alavuddin, State general secretary of the NCP, contesting in Ward 17 of the Adoor municipality, and Suma Narendra, a CPI(M) local committee member, who is in the fray in Ward 24 against the party’s Adoor area committee member Divya Reji Muhammad.

In Thiruvalla, both the LDF and UDF face rebel candidates in Ward 36, while Congress Mandalam Committee president Vinod Mambalam is contesting as an Independent in Ward 39. In Pathanamthitta, CPI(M) branch secretary M. Shefeena is running as a rebel in Ward 14 against the official CPI nominee.

In the Kulanada panchayat, a BJP stronghold, the party is dealing with two rebels—Abhilash Raj and V.R. Vinod Kumar, the latter currently a sitting panchayat member.

Kottayam is no exception to the rebellion wave with the Ettumanur municipality leading the charge, where NDA and LDF face two rebels each while the UDF has one.

In the Pala unicipality, the Congress faces a rebel challenge against its leader Saheesh Chollani, contesting from Ward 19. Maya Rahul, a Congress councillor who represented the ward in the outgoing council, is also contesting from the same ward.

In the Kottayam municipality, chairperson Bincy Sebastian faces a rebel in Ward 53, while the CPI(M) and the CPI will go head-to-head in Ward 20 of the Aymanam panchayat. In the Elikkulam panchayat, Kerala Congress (M) leader Mahesh is contesting as a rebel in Ward 7, and in the Erumely panchayat, CPI(M) ward member P.K. Hulasi is running as a rebel. Anita Sanosh of the Congress is also in the fray as a rebel candidate in the Pazhayidom ward of the same panchayat.

In Vazhakkala ward of the Erumely anchayat, an IUML candidate is contesting against the UDF-supported independent, while Congress Independent Liji Sani is running as a rebel in the Sreenipuram ward.

Meanwhile, the Congress has initiated disciplinary action against its rebel candidates in Kottayam. Three candidates in Kumaranalloor, two in Thalayazham, and P. Rajeev, the block general secretary contesting in the Ettumanur municipality, have been expelled from the party. In the first phase, nine individuals in Kottayam district have faced action, and the leadership has indicated that similar steps will follow against the remaining rebel candidates.