The Kannur city Corporation is all set to see a change of guard as the United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership here is busy chalking out a plan to rope in Deputy Mayor P.K. Ragesh, a former Congress leader whose sole vote ensured Left Democratic Front’s majority in the 55-member Corporation council. Both fronts have 27 members each in the civic body’s council.
Once a loyal lieutenant of Congress MP K. Sudhakaran, Mr. Ragesh had contested as an Independent after parting ways with the Congress over a dispute with the party leadership in connection with the control over the Congress-controlled cooperative bank at Pallikkunnu here.
Parleys on
He is all set to switch over to the Congress if the parleys initiated by Mr. Sudhakaran work as per plan.
His support will tilt the balance in the council and will lead to replacement of Mayor E.P. Latha, Communist Party of India (Marxist) member who was elected Mayor with the support of Mr. Ragesh.
IUML stand
The only stumbling block was the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leadership’s demand that the party nominee should be the Deputy Mayor.
Mr. Ragesh has reportedly conveyed to the Congress leadership that he would continue as Deputy Mayor.
He had been elected Deputy Mayor following the resignation of C. Sameer of the IUML after a no-confidence motion initiated by the Left Democratic Front.
According to sources, a broad consensus has been reached between the Congress and the IUML to share the Mayoral post for the remaining tenure.
The IUML district committee meeting held on Wednesday is learnt to have decided to let the party State committee take the proposal for sharing the Mayoral post.
Post-sharing pact
The Congress leadership exudes the hope that the party nominee would get the Mayoral post in the first half. They hope that Mr. Ragesh could be persuaded to step down as Deputy Mayor to allow the IUML nominee to be the Deputy Mayor till the end of the first term when the Mayor’s post would be given to the IUML.
The differences between Mr. Ragesh and the Congress leadership here narrowed when he had openly supported the candidature of his former mentor Mr. Sudhakaran in the Lok Sabha election in the Kannur constituency.