Though it was LDF which received a setback in Ernakulam Assembly constituency in the recently held bye-election, it is the Congress camp which has been on fire since the results came out on Thursday. UDF candidate TJ Vinod’s victory with a comparatively poor margin in what is believed to be a Congress bastion, has jolted the party leadership in the district. But the jolt has come as a hit not for TJ Vinod, who is also the district party chief, but for Kochi Mayor Soumini Jain; a section in the party has surfaced the issue of ousting her from the mayor position.
The discussions on removing Soumini Jain from the Mayor post were already on in the party – however, the discontent had been silent for a while. But it has resurfaced now because of an aggravated situation as the result of two things. One, the Corporation was already on the receiving end with the Kerala High Court holding the local body responsible for the massive waterlogging the city faced last Monday. At one point, the High Court even verbally observed that the local body should be dismissed. Secondly, the poor vote share received by UDF in Ernakulam constituency governed by the local body, which is Kochi Corporation, has turned people against Soumini even more.
The bye-polls were held on Monday, the same day when the city was inundated with water following heavy rains. With houses, shops and even many polling booths getting waterlogged, it had taken a toll on the voter turnout in the constituency. Even some UDF leaders had expressed apprehensions about the rains becoming an advantage for the LDF candidate. Looking at the election results, with TJ Vinod getting a margin of 3,750 votes in a place where in 2016 the UDF margin was 21,949, it can be said that the rains and waterlogging in the constituency have had an impact. But then the question is, how can only the Mayor of the local body be held accountable for this, when TJ Vinod also held the position of Deputy Mayor?
Is factionalism the real issue?
While the criticism of the High Court on the local body on waterlogging in the city, and the election results, are being pointed by a section of Congress leaders as tool against Soumini Jain, the real issue can possibly also be the factionalism in the party.
According to Congress leaders, Soumini Jain, part of the ‘A’ group of the party, was supposed to hand over the post of Mayor to an ‘I’ group leader after two and a half years – that is, half the term. The Congress ruled Corporation council came to power in 2015, and even after three and a half years, Soumini Jain is continuing to be the Mayor. Ever since then, from time to time there have been calls within the party, from the ‘I’ group, to oust her from the position.
Even top leaders of ‘I’ group in the district have openly come out demanding a change in leadership in the local body. On Thursday, just hours after the bye-poll results came, MP Hibi Eden, who belongs to the ‘I’ group, in a press meet in Kochi said that it was high time that Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) intervened in changing the leadership of the Kochi Corporation in the wake of the election results.
But as per the reaction of KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran, Soumini Jain might possibly enjoy being the captain of Kochi Corporation for some more time. Mulappally on Friday clearly expressed his opinion saying that there is no need to change the Mayor. “The result in Ernakulam constituency was the result of heavy rains and waterlogging. Everyone has equal responsibility and there is no need to make one person the scapegoat in the issue,” Mulappally told media.
It is to be seen how the conflicts of Congress factionalism in Kochi will develop in the coming days.
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