Dr Niji Justin to Be New Thrissur Mayor Amid Inner Conflicts in UDF, A Prasad Named Deputy Mayor

Thrissur: Thrissur DCC Vice President Dr Niji Justin will be the new Mayor of Thrissur Corporation, while KPCC Secretary A. Prasad will assume charge as Deputy Mayor.

The Congress had initially considered three candidates for the mayoral post—Dr Niji Justin, Subi Babu and Laly James. However, talks were prolonged as different factions stood firm in support of their respective candidates without compromise. Although a decision in favour of Dr Niji Justin for the first term reportedly emerged from the KPCC leadership yesterday morning, the situation changed by afternoon when a section of councillors came out in support of Laly James, triggering fresh differences.

Despite the councillors' demand, he Congress has not adopted the practice of secret ballot voting anywhere this time. Instead, the district leadership held individual consultations with councillors to assess their views. There was no clear situation where a majority of councillors unanimously backed a single candidate. Many councillors reportedly maintained that they would accept whoever the leadership decided.

As disagreements continued even after the KPCC decision, fresh rounds of discussions were held at the district level. Eventually, the leadership decided against a term-sharing arrangement and finalised Dr Niji Justin as Mayor and A. Prasad as Deputy Mayor.

DCC President Joseph Tajet told media that no one has been sidelined in the decision and described it as a “Christmas and New Year gift” for the people of Thrissur.

In the Kochi Corporation, the DCC had decided that the mayor and deputy mayor posts would be rotated between the ‘A’ and ‘I’ groups, with each faction holding office for two and a half years.

Despite the consensus in Thrissur, the recent conflicts indicate deepening factionalism within the UDF, raising concerns for the party leadership amid growing internal dissent.