Pala Municipality Chairperson Loses No-Confidence Motion Amid Rift in UDF-Backed Ruling Alliance

Pala: The no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against Pala Municipality Chairperson Diya Pulikkakkandam, who heads the Independent front governing the municipality with UDF support, was passed on Monday. The motion received the support of 17 councillors. The opposition had moved the motion after differences between the six-member Congress and the three-member Independent front within the ruling alliance escalated.

Ahead of the discussion on the motion, the UDF leadership had issued a whip directing Congress, Kerala Congress, and KDP councillors to stay away from the proceedings.

However, Congress councillors Lisikutty Mathew, Biju Mathews, Tony Thaiparambil, and Rajitha Prakash defied the whip and participated in the discussion. Maya Rahul, the Vice Chairperson who had contested as a Congress rebel, also voted in favour of the no-confidence motion.

In the 26-member municipal council, the LDF had 12 members, the UDF 10, and Independents four. Following internal disputes within the ruling alliance, the local Congress committee, including its six councillors, had withdrawn support to the Chairperson by expressing no confidence in her leadership. The LDF subsequently moved the no-confidence motion, stating that it was intended to prevent administrative paralysis, ensure the smooth implementation of development projects, and safeguard public interest by facilitating an alternative governing arrangement.

The dispute within the ruling alliance had intensified after two members of the Independent group assaulted Congress councillor Biju Mathews during a parliamentary party meeting over the allocation of an autorickshaw stand at the Kottaramattom bus stand. After police registered a case in connection with the assault, the Chairperson and the secretary filed a complaint against Biju Mathews, alleging that a file and a watch had been stolen from the Chairperson's office.

Meanwhile, amid the continuing conflict within the ruling alliance, the Independent group had brought four members by splitting two constituent parties of the UDF into its fold. Following these developments, the Congress councillors openly turned against the Chairperson.