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| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A keen battle is on the cards between the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the Kalamassery municipality in Ernakulam.
A traditional bastion of the Congress for nearly three decades, the civic body remained in the UDF kitty despite strong undercurrents in the previous election. The LDF’s hopes of making a dent in the stronghold of the Congress failed after it lost power in 2020 by a whisker.
With the UDF and LDF enjoying the support of 20 councillors each, the chairperson was chosen through a draw of lots. Luck had favoured Seema Kannan of the Congress after she was elected to lead the municipality. The lone member of the Bharatiya Janata Party stayed away from voting. Election was held to 41 of the 42 wards in the previous election following the death of a candidate.
The LDF regained confidence after an Independent candidate backed by it won the election held in January 2021 in the vacant seat, taking its tally to 20 seats. However, the UDF hung on to power with the help of a rebel of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), who left the Left camp and joined the front.
The UDF survived a no-confidence motion moved by the LDF against the chairperson in December 2022. It should have garnered at least 22 votes to sail through in the 42-member council. The UDF’s overall position was better in 2015 as it had then won 23 seats while the LDF secured victory in 15 seats. The BJP had opened its account for the first time in the municipality last time after it won the Thrikkakara temple ward.
Number of wards up
The delimitation exercise has widened the boundaries of the civic body this time as the number of wards has gone up to 46 from 42 in 2020. Both the UDF and the LDF exuded confidence of making it big in the final race amidst the BJP’s hopes of improving its tally. Ms. Kannan termed development of basic infrastructure across wards as the key achievement of her term while Leader of the Opposition K.K. Sasi blamed the ruling front for lack of development initiatives and alleged corruption.
Though their rift had come to the fore in the initial phase of the rule, the Congress and the IUML have completed the seat-sharing process, with the latter contesting in 10 seats. The LDF has also kick-started its campaign after finalising the seat allocation, with Communist Party of India contesting in seven seats. Communist Party of India (Marxist) will field candidates in 35 seats.
Published – November 20, 2025 09:32 am IST
