Discussions gather momentum in Congress over District Panchayat heads

With just a few days left for the newly elected local body chiefs to assume office, intense maneuvering is going on behind the scenes within the Congress over the selection of the Pathanamthitta District Panchayat president. Despite gaining an outright majority, the party is plagued by conflicting claims and there are indications of a power-sharing arrangement among its female members.

The Congress has 10 seats in the 17-member Panchayat District. But the challenge for the party leadership is not numerical strength, but the task of choosing a candidate from them.

All but one of the six female UDF members on the newly elected council have previous experience in local government. A few of them, especially Stella Thomas and Deenamma Roy, are also seen as strong organizational hands, making the leadership’s dilemma sharper and the negotiations more delicate.

Party sources say organizational capacity and previous experience in local self-government will play a big role in this decision. With Parliamentary elections on the horizon, social and societal balance is also expected to influence the final call.

This will be the fourth occasion when the post of District Panchayat president has been reserved for women since the introduction of the three-tier panchayat system in 1995.

Meanwhile, while he is expected to take on the post of vice-president of the Kerala Congress, Congress sources say that the party is keen on retaining this post as well.

“If rival claims intensify, a power-sharing arrangement between the president and vice-president positions may become inevitable. A term-sharing formula of two-and-a-half years for each is also being discussed,” said a senior Congress leader in Pathanamthitta.

Women will dominate leadership positions in the District Panchayat as well as municipalities in the region. This term, the mayors of all four municipalities will be women. While Adoor, Pathanamthitta and Pandalam have shifted from general category to women’s reservation, Thiruvalla, which was earlier reserved for women, has now been reserved for Scheduled Caste women.

UDF has clear majority in Pathanamthitta and Adoor municipalities. Despite failing to secure an absolute majority in Thiruvalla, the largest bloc, the UDF, is expected to appoint a president from the Scheduled Caste women category. In Pandalam municipality, where the LDF has a majority, the chairman will be decided by the CPI(M) district secretariat.

Women will also head Mallappally, Ranni and Parakkode Block Panchayats this term, while the post of president in Ilanthoor Block Panchayat is reserved for a Scheduled Caste woman. At the grassroots level, 27 of the 53 grama panchayats in the district will have women presidents on reservation.