All eight Congress members in Mattathur grama panchayat resigned and aligned with the BJP.
Independent candidate Tessi Jose Kallarakkal was elected president with their support.
The sudden shift caught Congress leadership off guard and altered the local power balance overnight.
The Congress suffered a major setback in Mattathur grama panchayat in Kodakara after all its elected members resigned from the party and aligned with the BJP, triggering a sudden shift in control of the local body.
According to The Hindu, all eight Congress members quit the party en masse and backed Independent candidate Tessi Jose Kallarakkal for the post of panchayat president, enabling a new ruling combination to take charge. Ms. Tessi, who had contested and won as an Independent, was elected president with the support of the rebel Congress members and the BJP.
The 24-member panchayat has a numerical composition of 10 LDF members, eight from the UDF, four from the NDA and two Independents. The Hindu reported that Ms. Tessi secured 12 votes—eight from the former Congress members and three from the four BJP members—while one BJP vote was declared invalid. Independent councillor K. R. Ouseph, who had contested as a Congress rebel, received 10 votes, all from LDF members.
The outcome came amid indications that the LDF was attempting to form an administration by aligning with Mr. Ouseph. However, the sudden resignation of the entire Congress bloc and its decision to side with the BJP altered the equation overnight, catching the party leadership unprepared.
According to The Hindu, the resigning members said in their letters that the move was a protest against what they described as “injustice and neglect” by the party leadership towards the mandalam Congress committee and grassroots workers.
The developments have pushed the Congress into a crisis in Mattathur, marking a rare instance of an entire elected group exiting the party together and reshaping the balance of power within the panchayat in a single move.
(With inputs from The Hindu)
