Just 10 days after it was uprooted from power in the Erattupetta civic body, the United Democratic Front (UDF) on Friday lost one more municipality with a no-trust motion against its chairperson getting passed in the Kottayam municipality.
The no-trust motion against municipal chairperson Bincy Sebastian, moved by the Left Democratic Front (LDF), received 29 votes, including those of the eight Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors. The UDF members abstained from the proceedings while the vote cast by one of the LDF members became invalid.
In the 52-member council, both the LDF and the UDF have 22 members each while the remaining eight belong to the BJP. The UDF had come to power in the municipality through a draw of lots.
The LDF leadership said they decided to bring down the council following a prolonged stalemate in the administration. Speaking to mediapersons, Communist Party of India (Marxist) district committee member K. Anilkumar said the council failed miserably in containing the COVID-19 outbreak and in effectively utilising funds.
The UDF, on the other hand, accused the LDF of joining hands with communal forces. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly V.D. Satheesan accused the LDF of forging alliances with both the BJP and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in a span of ten days. The no-trust motion moved by the LDF in Erattupetta had received the support of all five SDPI councillors in the municipality.
During the first nine months of her tenure, Ms.Sebastian faced stiff opposition not just from the LDF but from within her own camp as well. A section of the UDF councillors, led by vice chairman B.Gopakumar, had come out in the open against Ms.Sebastian on more than one occasion during the period.