The chairperson’s post in Koothattukulam seems almost cursed, as no one has ever completed a full five-year term. In fact, during the two terms spanning 10 years since it was elevated to a municipality, Koothattukulam has had six different chairpersons, including two in the just-concluded term.
In 2015, neither the United Democratic Front (UDF) nor the Left Democratic Front (LDF) secured a decisive majority, which meant that the two Congress rebels who won as Independents effectively held sway. The UDF managed to stay in power for the first three-and-a-half years, while the LDF governed for the remainder as both Independents swung between the two sides. The UDF lost control after one of its leaders defected and one of the Independents, Roy Abraham, switched allegiance to the LDF, which promptly made him chairperson. Incidentally, Mr. Abraham is now a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporter, though the party is yet to open its account in the municipality.
The LDF wrested power in 2020 with 13 members in the 25-member council, while the UDF won 11 seats and one Independent also won. The CPI(M)’s Vijaya Sivan enjoyed a relatively smooth sail as chairperson until party councillor Kala Raju revolted, sending a letter to the party’s State secretary in October last year accusing the local leadership of “abandoning her in her hour of need.” She alleged that Sunny Kuriakose, the incumbent municipal vice-chairperson and CPI(M) area committee member, had forced her to “undersell” her house and property to clear debts with the Koothattukulam Farmers Service Cooperative Bank Ltd., where he served as president, just a month after her husband’s death during the pandemic in 2021.
