Suma Balakrishnan of the Congress was elected Mayor of Kannur on Wednesday at a special meeting of the Kannur Corporation council chaired by District Collector T. V. Subhash.
In the 55-member council, Ms. Balakrishnan polled 28 votes. Her rival E.P. Latha of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) got 25 votes. The vote of Left Democratic Front's K. Roja was declared invalid. One member had died recently.
The election of the new Mayor followed the resignation of Ms. Latha as Mayor on August 17 after she lost a no-confidence motion moved by the United Democratic Front. Ms. Latha had been elected Mayor with the support of Congress rebel and Independent member P.K. Ragesh, who got elected as Deputy Mayor as a quid pro quo.
In the council where the CPI(M)-led LDF and the Congress-led UDF had 27 members each, Mr. Ragesh's support was crucial. When he supported the UDF's no-trust motion, Ms. Latha lost the majority in the council where the strength of the LDF has been reduced to 26 following the death of one of its members.
New equations
Ms. Balakrishnan's election was predicted given the new equations in the council. According to a deal between the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League, Ms. Balakrishnan would continue as Mayor for the next six months of the remaining one-year tenure of the council. An IUML woman member will be Mayor in the final leg of the term. Mayor's post in the Kannur Corporation is reserved for women.
After the election in the forenoon on Wednesday, Mr. Subhas administered the oath of office to Ms. Balakrishnan.
Congress leaders K. Sudhakaran, MP, and District Congress Committee president Satheeshan Pacheni were among those who felicitated the new Mayor at a reception arranged on the compound of the Corporation office.