Diya Pulikkakandam is flanked by father Binu (left) and brother Biju.
Credit: Special Arrangement.
Thiruvananthapuram: With three members of a family winning elections as independent candidates in the hung Pala municipality in Kerala, the family has called the shots.
As a result, 21-year-old Diya Binu Pulikkakandam became the municipal chairperson on Friday putting an end to the nearly four decade rule of Kerala Congress (M), founded by political stalwart K M Mani.
It is also a sort of revenge by Diya's father Binu Pulikkakandam, who was denied the chairperson post by KC(M), which is now being headed by Mani's son and Rajya Sabha MP Jose K Mani.
With K M Mani representing Pala Assembly constituency for over 50 years in a row from 1965 till his death in 2019, Pala has become a synonym for Mani and his party in Kerala politics. But KC(M) lost the Pala Assembly seat in the 2019 by-poll held following Mani's death.
KC(M), which is now a coalition partner of the left-front, has now lost the Pala municipality too.
Apart from Binu and Diya, Binu's younger brother Biju Pulikkakandam also won as an independent candidate in Pala. In the 26 member council Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) got only 10 seats and CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) only 11 seats, which includes KC(M). Five independents including the three from Pulikkakandam family won.
After a series of deliberations by both LDF and UDF, the three members from Pulikkakandam family as well as another independent candidate Maya Rahul decided to align with the UDF. While Diya is chairperson, Maya Rahul is the vice chairperson.
Binu has been a councillor of Pala over the last 20 years. He was with the BJP and CPI(M) earlier. In 2020 even as he won as CPI(M) councillor and staked claim for chairperson post, Jose K Mani strongly opposed it. Since then he has been taking a strong position against Jose K Mani. Hence for Binu as well as his family it is a sort of revenge taking as the young girl from the family took over as chairperson.
Diya, who is among the youngest chairpersons of local bodies, is an economics graduate from the Madras Christian College and is now preparing for MBA studies. "Age is just a number. I consider it as an opportunity to use my ability for the development of Pala," she said.