UDF wrests rule of Wayanad’s Panamaram village panchayat after LDF’s internal conflict
Benny Cheriyan. Photo: Benny Cheriyan/Facebook
Kalpetta: CPM lost the rule of Panamaram village panchayat to UDF on Thursday, an internal conflict within the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led to one of its members switching sides.
LDF member Benny Cheriyan, a Janata Dal (S) nominee, had recently joined Trinamool Congress and supported UDF in the voting. Though LDF suggested Rejitha Vijayan as president, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) candidate Lakshmi Alakkamuttam secured victory, winning 12 votes against 10.
In the 23-member panchayat, LDF and UDF had 11 votes each and one for the BJP. UDF had recently ousted the CPM panchayat president through a ‘No Confidence Motion’, just months before the elections.
The Panamaram village panchayat had recently drawn attention after Benny Cheriyan was allegedly assaulted by CPM workers for raising corruption allegations against the panchayat administration.
He also staged an indefinite sit-in in front of the panchayath office against the irregularities in the appointments to the panchayath and also massive corruption. Following his expulsion from the JD(S), he joined the Trinamool Congress.
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