CPI(M) turns to Kumarakom to bolster narrative of Cong.-BJP collusion

Amid the raging political slug-fest over the Mattathur panchayat in Thrissur, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has now set its sights on the Kumarakom panchayat in Kottayam, where it lost power for the first time in 55 years, seeking to underline its claims of a Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party nexus in the State.

As part of the offensive, the party on Tuesday openly challenged the Congress, asking whether it had the courage to expel those who engineered the alleged collusion to manipulate the mandate in the Kumarakom panchayat. “From Mattathur to Kumarakom, it is the Congress that has manipulated the system, allowing the front with the largest number of seats to assume power where no party has a majority,” alleged K. Anil Kumar, a member of the CPI(M) State committee.

The dramatic power shift in the local body last week saw an Independent, A. P. Gopi, assume charge as president with the backing of the United Democratic Front and three BJP members, decided by a draw of lots. In the aftermath, the BJP initiated action against three of its elected members, expelling them from primary membership of the party for violating the party whip.

Highlighting the pre-election manoeuvring, Mr. Anil Kumar said the collusion was evident long before polling. “The collusion was most evident at the district panchayat level. While the BJP secured 2,617 votes in the grama panchayat, its district panchayat candidate received only 610 votes. Conversely, the UDF, which got 4,441 votes in the grama panchayat, saw its district panchayat candidate secure 6,419 votes. A similar pattern of collusion is visible in the Thiruvaarp grama panchayat as well,” he pointed out.

The Congress, however, defended the outcome by maintaining that it has only supported an Independent. “Mr. Gopi is a former local committee secretary of the CPI(M) and contested as an Independent. We have no obligation to facilitate his return to the party from which he had earlier parted ways,” said Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan, MLA.