Jamal Manakkadan to lead UDF as Kalamassery municipal chairperson

Senior Congress leader Jamal Manakkadan will lead the United Democratic Front (UDF) as chairperson of Kalamassery municipality.

The Congress Parliamentary Party approved his name for the post of chairperson as there was no other contender in the race following the emphatic win registered by the UDF in the local body polls. The front had won 30 of the total 46 wards.

The unanimous selection has resulted in Mr. Manakkadan assuming the post for the fourth time in his political career. He had won from the Vattekunnam ward with a majority of 17 votes.

He had served as a councillor in the previous council and was part of the District Planning Committee. His wife Rukiya Jamal is also part of the new council after she won from the Cochin University Engineering College campus ward with a majority of 246 votes. She had earlier served as chairperson of the civic body.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is likely to announce its deputy chairperson candidate on Wednesday (December 24). The contenders include Shanida Siddique and Shareena Kamaruddin, who won from the Mini Town Hall and Municipal wards, respectively. According to the understanding within the UDF, the post of deputy chairperson was allocated to the IUML.

The election to the posts of chairperson and deputy chairperson will be smooth for the UDF in view of its considerable majority in the new council. The Left Democratic Front could manage to secure victory in only 13 wards this time. It had a total strength of 20 councillors after the local body elections held in 2020.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was unable to improve its performance in the polls, settling for a single win after retaining the Thrikkakara Temple ward with a majority of 11 votes.