In a significant political upset in Kerala, eight Congress members of the Mattathur grama panchayat in Thrissur district resigned from the party en masse. They subsequently voted for an independent candidate backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leading to a dramatic shift in control of the local body. The incident, which occurred ahead of the panchayat president's election on Saturday, has ignited a major controversy with Congress leaders drawing parallels to the BJP's alleged 'Operation Kamala' strategy from Karnataka.
Mass Resignation and a Strategic Vote
The political drama unfolded just before the crucial election for the president of Mattathur panchayat. All eight elected Congress members submitted their resignations to the District Congress Committee (DCC) President, Joseph Tajet. They then cast their votes in favour of independent candidate T C Josie, who had received explicit backing from the BJP.
The arithmetic of the 24-member panchayat made this defection decisive. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) was the single largest bloc with 10 members. The Congress originally had eight, the BJP had four, and two other independents had also won seats. With one BJP member's vote being declared invalid, the combined support of the remaining three BJP votes and the eight Congress defectors secured the presidency for Josie. This effectively denied the LDF control of the panchayat despite it being the largest party.
Congress Retaliation and Allegations of 'Operation Kamala'
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and local DCC leaders reacted swiftly and harshly to the rebellion. DCC president Joseph Tajet confirmed that the party has expelled Thrissur DCC general secretary T M Chandran, Mattathur mandalam committee president Shafi Kallupparambil, and all the Congress members involved in the cross-voting. Tajet stated that the party views this as a grave issue and that measures would also be initiated to disqualify the defecting members from the panchayat itself.
The move has sparked intense political debate, with Congress leaders alleging that the episode mirrors the BJP's 'Operation Kamala'—a term coined in Karnataka referring to the party's alleged strategy of engineering defections from rival parties to gain power. Internal party sources suggested the unrest originated from dissatisfaction among local Congress workers over candidate selection during the recent local body elections.
Parallel Incident in Chowwannoor and Disciplinary Fallout
In a related but contrasting development in the same district, the Congress faced another disciplinary challenge in the Chowwannoor panchayat. There, a Congress candidate, T M Nidheesh, won the presidential election with the support of members from the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
However, this alliance proved unacceptable to the party leadership. Joseph Tajet noted that the party had asked Nidheesh to resign from the post following the SDPI support, but he refused. This refusal has prompted the Congress to initiate disciplinary action against Nidheesh as well, highlighting the party's attempts to maintain a strict line amidst complex local political equations.
These twin incidents in Thrissur district underscore the volatile and intricate nature of grassroots politics in Kerala, where local grievances and strategic alliances can suddenly alter the balance of power, leaving state-level party leaderships scrambling to enforce discipline.
