Bindu Pradeep of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was elected president of the Chennithala Thripperunthura grama panchayat in Alappuzha on Tuesday. Congress members abstained from voting.
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Ms. Pradeep polled seven votes, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M)) candidate Vijayamma Philendran got four votes.
In the local body elections held in December 2020, both the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won six seats each, whereas the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) got five. An independent candidate secured one seat in the local body.
Following the polls, Ms. Philendran of the CPI (M) was elected president of the grama panchayat on December 30 with the support of UDF members. The post of president in the local body is reserved for scheduled caste woman. As the UDF did not have a scheduled caste woman member, its members had voted for Ms. Philendran in the election to the president post.
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The CPI (M), which was averse to accepting the support of Congress, however, asked her to resign from the post and she tendered her resignation in February. In the second election held in March, Ms. Philendran got elected again to the post with UDF support. However, immediately after her election, she resigned for a second time as directed by her party. It prompted the fresh election.
Earlier the BJP came to power in Pandanad and Kodumthuruthu grama panchayats in Alappuzha district after the 2020 local body polls.
Chennithala Thripperunthura is the home panchayat of Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. Mr. Chennithala and his family members were voters of Chennithala Thripperumthura. They recently transposed their votes to Haripad municipality where his camp office is situated.