Idukki: The Kerala Congress (M) –led LDF panel named Sahakarana Samrakshana Munnani has swept the election held on Sunday to the governing committee of Malanad Co-operative Agricultural & Rural Development Bank in Nedumkandam by winning all 13 seats.
The election to the cooperative bank which is said to have 30,500 voters spread across 13 panchayats in Udumbanchola, Devikulam, and Peerumedu assembly segments in the district was eagerly contested by both the LDF and UDF and all the top political leaders of both fronts including Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose of Congress and CPM Idukki secretary C V Varghese was present during the polls in Nedumkandam on Sunday in the presence of a large posse of cops led by Kattappana DySP.
The stabbing of a congress youth by KC (M) state committee member Jinson Powathil after a heated argument over the Malanadu bank elections after both met on Friday night at a house in Nedumkandam had made the cooperative bank elections a major political event in the district.
The bank was ruled by KC (M) for the past 25 years and all the governing councils were elected unopposed during this period. However, after the KC (M) joined LDF, an election became necessary this time with KC (M) and Congress putting up two separate panels for the bank elections.
“Though there were 30,500 voters in the election roll there are only 12,000 active voters. As the voter’s roll was prepared after these many years, there is every possibility of several dead persons and those working abroad appearing in the roll. The actual votes polled was around 8,250,” the incumbent president of the bank and KC (M) district president Jose Palathinal said.
Palathinal, who has been associated with the bank for the past two decades, got the most number of votes in the elections – 4,389. The winning LDF panel consists of eight KC (M) members, 3 from CPM and one from CPI. The vote difference between both panels was around 900.
UDF leaders alleged that violating the rules the ID card of the bank which is used as the election ID card for the bank polls was issued by LDF by flaunting rules. UDF claimed that rather than mandatorily issuing the cards to the voters by collecting their signatures in the register at the bank, ID cards in large numbers were distributed to the voters by taking them to their homes. Some ID cards were handed over to voters outside the polling station on Sunday just before the polls, UDF leaders alleged.
There was a ruckus between the UDF and LDF workers at the polling station on Sunday afternoon during the poll over ID cards and cops had to resort to a mild cane charge.
“It is a prestigious victory for us and it has proved that KC (M) and LDF have unbridled support of the voters in the cooperative sector,” Mr Palathinal said.
Pic: LDF members celebrating the victory in the election held to the governing committee of the Malanad Co-operative Agricultural & Rural Development Bank in Nedumkandam after results were declared on Sunday night
