UDF hopes to continue its winning streak as LDF sees a silver lining in Palarivattom

What has been shaping up as a tight fight between the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the Palarivattom division of the Kochi Corporation has become even more intense after a former Congress councillor rebelled against the party and entered the fray as an Independent candidate, turning it into a four-cornered contest with a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate also in contention.

The UDF has fielded three-time sitting councillor V.K. Minimol, who is also the State vice-president of the Mahila Congress, while the LDF has nominated the sitting councillor from the neighbouring Padivattom division, R. Ratheesh.

NDA candidate K.R. Rajendran meeting a voter.
| Photo Credit:
R.K. Nithin

Joseph Alex, who represented the Mamangalam division, renamed Palarivattom after delimitation, as a Congress councillor during 2015–20, is contesting as an Independent. The BJP’s Mamangalam area committee president K.R. Rajendran is making his electoral debut.

Ms. Minimol has put up a brave front, saying that the rebel candidate would make little difference to the potential verdict in her favour. The division was considered an LDF bastion until she won it in her maiden election in 2010, after which it has remained with the UDF. She moved to the pre-delimitation Palarivattom division in 2015 before returning in 2020.

“I have a decade-long relationship with the people of this division and have done a lot of work for them. All canals passing through the division have been widened and fortified with sidewalls, making it completely free of waterlogging for the past couple of years. All roads have been upgraded to BMBC standards, while the anganwadi was shifted to its own building. Fifteen Kudumbashree groups have also been started in the division,” said Ms. Minimol.

UDF candidate V.K. Minimol listens to a voter in the division.
| Photo Credit:
R.K. Nithin

Mr. Ratheesh believes the emergence of a Congress rebel will work in his favour. He is also banking on what he perceives as anti-incumbency sentiments against the UDF, which has represented the division since 2010. He accused the sitting councillor of failing to take the initiative for the city gas project, leaving many households without connections.

He further alleged that the division was not aligned with welfare and development-based city governance during the past five years of LDF rule due to the reluctance of the sitting councillor.

“This is what I call a geriatric division, considering that almost 70% of households have elderly people living alone. I have been working on a novel mobile app for the elderly, going beyond the concept of Pakalveedu [day-care centres for the elderly], to facilitate palliative care, interactions, and elderly-friendly trips,” said Mr. Ratheesh, who has an IT background, having worked with Infosys for 13 years.

Independent candidate Joseph Alex campaigning in the division.
| Photo Credit:
R.K. Nithin

Mr. Alex alleged that he was assured of the seat until the eleventh hour before being overlooked. He argued that Ms. Minimol had other safe seats reserved for women in the neighbourhood, such as Puthiya Road and Karanakkodam, and need not have insisted on Palarivattom, a general seat. He claimed to have risen through the ranks of the Kerala Students’ Union and the Youth Congress and said he had worked hard for the election of P.T. Thomas and later his wife Uma Thomas in the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency.

Mr. Rajendran is promising implementation of Centrally-administered major projects for the city and solutions to the drug and mosquito menace affecting the division.

The former Mamangalam division has been renamed Palarivattom without any changes to its geographical boundaries. The division has around 4,500 voters, with average polling usually hovering between 50% to 60%.