After more than a year and a half of sustained efforts, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has finally succeeded in unseating the Kerala Congress-BJP coalition from power in the Kidangoor grama panchayat.

A no-confidence motion moved by the LDF against panchayat president Thomas Maliyekkal, a Kerala Congress leader, was passed on Thursday with the support of BJP rebel K.G. Vijayan. Following this, BJP member Reshmi Rajesh, who served as the local body’s vice-president, too resigned from her post.

In the 15-member panchayat, the LDF holds seven seats, while the BJP has five. The remaining three seats belong to the P.J. Joseph-led Kerala Congress.

The local body had undergone a dramatic shift in leadership about a year and a half ago when the Kerala Congress allied with the BJP to unseat the LDF. In the subsequent elections, Thomas Maliyekkal was elected president with BJP support, while the Kerala Congress backed a BJP candidate for the vice-president’s post.

These elections had been necessitated by the resignations of the then president Bobby Mathew of the Kerala Congress (M) and vice-president Hema Raju of the CPI(M) as part of a power-sharing agreement within the LDF. However, following his election, Mr. Maliyekkal and others were expelled from the Kerala Congress.

n