Muslim League and Congress at Odds in UDF-Ruled Kannur Corporation; League Seeks Greater Say in Decisions

Kannur: The Muslim League and Congress are at loggerheads in the UDF-governed Kannur Corporation, with the League openly expressing dissatisfaction over the administration’s functioning. Muslim League district president Adv Abdul Kareem Cheleri has demanded that major decisions be taken only after consultations. The party has also expanded its council steering committee to strengthen its intervention in the corporation’s administration. The move comes amid existing differences between the Congress and the League.

Criticism that the League’s role in policy decisions had diminished after the new governing council took office has prompted the party leadership to adopt a tougher stance. The League wants major decisions in the corporation to be discussed at the party level and the steering committee’s opinion to be taken into account. The committee will also discuss and decide the positions to be adopted at council meetings.

The expanded committee comprises district president Abdul Kareem Cheleri, general secretary K T Sahadulla, Deputy Mayor K P Tahir, district office-bearers T A Thangal and B K Ahmed, as well as constituency and zonal office-bearers and standing committee chairpersons from the corporation area.

The League leadership has raised criticism over certain administrative decisions of the corporation. There are also allegations that the Mayor and standing committee chairpersons focused excessively on organising Kannur Dasara, disrupting the corporation’s day-to-day functioning and development activities.

Dissatisfaction has also been expressed over the exclusion of the chairpersons of the Public Works and Town Planning standing committees from the Traffic Regulatory Committee. The criticism is that it was inappropriate to remove members who had previously participated in the committee’s meetings.

Power-sharing disputes between the Congress and the League in Kannur Corporation are not new. During the previous council’s term, the two parties had publicly clashed over sharing the Mayor’s post. The League had launched protests, including boycotting corporation events, alleging that the Congress had failed to honour an understanding to hand over the Mayor’s post to the League after two-and-a-half years. The dispute was resolved only after intervention by the party leaderships.

Differences also emerged during seat-sharing negotiations ahead of the 2025 local body elections. Talks were prolonged after the Congress opposed the League’s demand for the Varam, Vettilappally and Adikadalayi divisions. The latest move indicates that differences over power-sharing in the corporation have not been fully resolved.