Uncertainty over who will rule Angamaly municipality continues with neither the United Democratic Front (UDF) nor the Left Democratic Front (LDF) securing a clear majority there.
The incumbent UDF has won 12 wards in the municipality, while the LDF clinched 13 seats. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has two seats, while four independents have emerged as a decisive bloc in the municipality with 30 wards.
The fractured mandate has forced both the major fronts to look for the support of the independents to capture power. The magic number to gain majority in the council is 16. In that case, the UDF requires the support of all the four independents while the LDF needs the backing of only three. Both the fronts, however, hope that the simple majority will be brought down to 15 with the two NDA representatives expected to stay away from voting.
The four independents who have emerged as winners this time are Wilson Mundadan, Varghese Vempliath, Luxy Joy and Bini Krishnankutty. Mr. Mundadan has won his fifth term as an independent councillor, while it is the second term for both Mr. Vempliath and Ms. Joy. Ms. Krishnankutty, an ASHA worker supported by Mr. Mundadan, has emerged as the winner in her maiden contest. They have made it clear that they will be taking a collective decision on which front to be supported.
