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Kerala / The New Indian Express

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Manjeshwar panchayat, where independents had the last laugh

KASARGOD: In the local body elections of 2020, the LDF wrested power in 19 of the 39 panchayats in Kasaragod district, while the UDF assumed office in 15 and the BJP in three. Curiously, Manjeshwar panchayat landed in the hands of independent candidates, even as the BJP and the IUML were expected to fight tooth and nail to win the local body. The incumbent panchayat president Gean Lavina Monteiro won as an independent from Guddekeri with the support of the UDF while the vice-president, Mohammad Siddiq, won as an independent from Kanila. While Guddekeri had elected an independent even in 2015, Kanila was with the IUML. In an interesting turn of events, Monteiro received the backing of the BJP to become the president, after the BJP and the IUML secured six seats each. IUML workers have been blaming the SDPI, which has increased its count from a single seat to two, for playing spoilsport. The IUML-led UDF had won Manjeshwar in the 2010 and 2015 local elections while the BJP emerged as the major opposition party. SDPI works to defeat the League even when it tolerates Sangh elements winning the elections, said a League worker, who preferred not to be named. Manjeshwar panchayat borders Karnatakas Dakshina Kannada district, a BJP bastion. The BJP has been active in the region for long and striving to wrest Manjeshwar from the UDF, especially from the League. The LDF has little presence though the CPI and the CPM could secure one ward each in the 2020 elections. The Congress held two wards -- Vamanjoor Gudde and Udyawar Gudde -- in 2015 but lost them to the BJP, leaving its ally IUML with just six wards, the same as the BJP. The tie enabled the BJP to engineer a situation that ousted the IUML from power. The League lost four wards -- Gerukatte, Kanila, Bangara Manjeshwar, and Udyawar to independents in the 2020 elections. This time, the BJP is determined to win Manjeshwar panchayat and Kasaragod municipality. Even LDF and UDF would come together to defeat BJP because they are so scared, BJP district president Ashwini M L had declared after the elections were announced. Winning in Manjeshwar is top priority for us, Ashwini told TNIE. Meanwhile, the UDF is gearing up to take back the panchayat. The League has the support of the common people, especially the working classes. We will win the panchayat again, said K M K Abdul Rahiman, the League candidate from Kadapuram ward. With delimitation having increased the number of wards in Manjeshwar panchayat to 24 from 21, it will be interesting to watch if the independents impact the final tally yet again.

27 Nov 2025 7:24 am