Both LDF, UDF hopeful of helming Kochi Corporation

The Kochi Corporation remains a political and electoral enigma of sorts. The United Democratic Front (UDF) has been dominant in the Ernakulam Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies for long, but has not managed to replicate that success in the Corporation. In fact, after the first decade following the formation of the Corporation in 1969, through the merger of the Ernakulam, Mattancherry, and Fort Kochi municipalities, it was the Left Democratic Front (LDF) that held sway.

The emergence of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] stalwart K. Balachandran as the face of the developing city, though he served as Mayor for only about two years between 1979 and 1984, strengthened the LDF’s hold. The party’s success in empowering the working class from the newly added panchayats of Edappally, Vennala, and Vyttila, coupled with the bickering within the Congress, ensured that the UDF’s losing streak in the Corporation lasted more than three decades.

Mr. Balachandran’s retreat from mainstream politics in the mid-1990s coincided with the late Congress Chief Minister K. Karunakaran launching big-ticket projects in Kochi, including the Cochin International Airport Limited and the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium. Alongside, civic issues such as the city’s notoriety for mosquitoes started to erode the LDF’s influence. Yet, the front managed to hang on to power for another decade and a half, thanks largely to the infighting in the Congress.

The UDF would likely have staged a comeback in the 2005 election but for the rebellion led by Mr. Karunakaran, who eventually broke away to form the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran). Five years later, the UDF finally wrested power with a thumping majority. In the 74-member council, the UDF swept 48 seats, including the support of two Congress rebels, while the LDF was reduced to 24 and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to secure two seats. Congress leader Tony Chammany was sworn in as Mayor.

The UDF retained power in 2015, though with a reduced margin. Its tally dropped to 38 seats, while the LDF increased its count to 30. The BJP held on to its two seats. Soumini Jain became the second woman Mayor of Kochi, following LDF’s Mercy Williams, who had served from 2005 to 2010.

Despite enjoying a majority, bickering within the Congress resurfaced, creating fissures in the UDF midway through the term. Ms. Jain’s tenure was tumultuous, with sections of the party demanding her replacement and several standing committee chairpersons resigning in protest. Yet, she managed to hold on to power.

In 2020, the LDF emerged as the single largest bloc, though short of a simple majority. It won 34 seats to the UDF’s 31, while the BJP more than doubled its tally to five. V4 Kochi, a newly formed political movement that fielded candidates in 59 divisions managed to register a total vote share of over 10% thus skewing the electoral arena somewhat.

Playing kingmakers

Four Independents, three UDF rebels, and one LDF rebel became kingmakers. Congress leader N. Venugopal, who was expected to be Mayor had the UDF won, suffered a dramatic defeat in the Island North division after the presiding officer voted in favour of his BJP opponent when votes were tied and one polled vote went unaccounted for.

Apart from wooing back its rebel K.P. Antony, the LDF also managed to sway two UDF rebels — T.K. Asharaf and J. Sanilmon — decisively tilting the balance in its favour. Four-time councillor and CPI(M) State Committee member M. Anilkumar was sworn in as Mayor.

Brahmapuram fire

The UDF’s hopes of upsetting the LDF apple cart in two byelections held in the Gandhi Nagar and Ernakulam South divisions, following the death of sitting councillors, were dashed as the CPI(M) and the BJP retained their respective seats. Despite ruling with a wafer-thin margin, the LDF completed its term largely uneventfully, though the fire at the plastic waste heaps in the Corporation’s solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram in March 2023, which raged for nearly a fortnight, proved a major challenge.

The incident brought with it allegations of corruption in the award of the biomining contract at Brahmapuram to Zonta Infratech Private Limited. The contract was eventually cancelled. Spells of heavy rain revived the familiar spectre of waterlogging in the city, while other civic issues such as the mosquito menace and stray dogs also surfaced intermittently.