Despite winning a clear majority, the LDF will have to surrender the Kanchiyar grama panchayat (Idukki) President post to NDA. In a very interesting turn of events, Suresh Kuzhikattu will head the Kanchiyar grama Panchayat, as he is the only SC candidate to get the mandate.
The panchayat president spot in Kanchiyar is reserved for the Scheduled Caste category, and despite proclaiming themselves as the champion of the SC/ST community, the LDF failed to get their candidate across the finish line. Suresh won the mandate with a majority of 88 votes, over the UDF candidate who won 300 seats. LDF barely won 200 votes. However, the LDF did win nine out of 16 seats, UDF won six, and NDA got one.
The only recourse that LDF has is to ask one of their general candidate and field and win an SC candidate in the seat. Moreover, the LDF has been accusing the BJP and NDA of being a privileged group, and proclaiming that the left has been the only one to stand with the downtrodden. However, with this embarrassing state of affair, the CPM will have to look closer at their local activities. Judging from the NDA growth in Idukki and the LDF’s evidently low mandate from the marginal communities, it needs to be seen whether the left will resort to such a tactic to get the president post.
