The Left Democratic Front (LDF) has formed a Joint Parliamentary Party Committee, a new coordination mechanism, in the Kochi Corporation.
The committee will have all the councillors of the Front and district secretaries of the CPI(M) and the CPI as its members. CPI(M) leaders C.M. Dinesh Mani and C.K. Manisankar, and the CPI’s C.A. Shakkeer and T.C. Sanjith will be its members. CPI(M) councillor Benedict Fernandez will be the convener.
The committee will meet before crucial meetings of the council and ahead of major policy decisions.
The first meeting of the committee was held at Lenin Centre, Kaloor, the district headquarters of the CPI(M).
Till now, parliamentary party committees of major parties with councillors of the respective parties as its members used to meet before corporation council meetings to finalise strategies to be adopted at council meetings.
Despite the formation of the joint committee, parliamentary party meetings of the front constituents will be held separately, said an LDF leader who was privy to the development.
CPI demand
The CPI, the second biggest constituent in the LDF, will demand the chairmanship of one standing committee in the corporation. The party put up its best performance ever in the council by winning four seats.
It will not be legitimate on the part of the party to demand more posts, considering the present composition of the LDF.
The Front will have to spare some posts for Independents who have offered to support it, said P. Raju, district secretary of the party. The Front is yet to begin its discussions on allocation of posts, he added.
CPI councillor K.A. Ansiya, who is tipped to become Deputy Mayor, is the party’s sole nominee in the past half-a-century to adorn the post after T.A. Abu, who was elected Mayor 50 years ago, Mr. Raju said. Ms. Ansiya will serve as Deputy Mayor for the full five-year term, he added.
The CPI(M) had earlier decided to field its fourth-time councillor and district committee member M. Anilkumar as the Mayor candidate at the election to be held on Monday.
The Congress will field Antony Kureethara and Seena Gokulan as its Mayor and Deputy Mayor candidates. The BJP will also contest the election.
As the BJP is unlikely to vote in favour of its political adversaries, the LDF and the UDF, the Left candidates are likely to win the election.
