Radhamani Pillai of the Congress was elected chairperson of the Thrikkakara municipality comfortably on Saturday after weeks of uncertainty over differences of opinion within the United Democratic Front (UDF). She ultimately sailed through with 24 votes in the 43-member council, with one of the UDF votes being invalid.
The Opposition candidate for the chairperson’s position, Ajuna Hashim, garnered 17 votes as one of the LDF supporters stayed away from voting, apparently due to ill health. The results were on expected lines, said a Congress leader and councillor in Thrikkakara after the election of Ms. Pillai. The importance attached to the victory of the UDF candidate in the voting was underscored by the presence of the Congress district leadership during and after the election.
Mohammed Shiyas, Ernakulam district president of the Congress, congratulated Ms. Pillai after the election results came through. The vice chairman of the municipality will be elected on August 4. The Muslim League is fielding P.M. Younus as its candidate for the position and he is expected to sail through the voting with the party leadership behind him.
Meanwhile, Ms. Pillai said finding a solution to the nagging problem of waste disposal was her top priority as she took charge. She added that the problem had dogged the municipality for a long while now. The ban on dumping biodegradable waste at the Brahmapuram yard, used by the Kochi Corporation, has accentuated the problem even as the municipal authority has experimented with a variety of solutions without great result.
She said she had just been elected as chairperson, but for her the most important issue before the municipality was proper waste disposal
.The Congress candidate elected comfortably with 24 votes in the 43-member council
