Assembly seat and crucial party post; Congress move to pacify Deepthi Mary Varghese

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KPCC General Secretary Deepti Mary Varghese, who was at the forefront of opposition protests in the municipality for five years, was expected to become the mayor of Kochi, but that didn’t happen. Congress decided to give the Mayor post to Advocate V.K. Minimol and Shiny Mathew under the term system.

Communal equations were the setback for Deepthi Mary Varghese. Despite doing decent work in the last term, LDF lost the Kochi corporation. The Latin Church was crucial for UDF’s return to power in Kochi. The church approved the congress decision to give the Mayor post to Shiny and Minimol. With assembly elections just months away, Deepti deemed it not wise to protest the church's decision.

Despite accepting the Congress decision, Deepthi is reportedly dejected over being neglected. To alleviate further discord, Deepthi will likely be given a winnable seat in the assembly elections to be held next year. Deepti, who is currently the KPCC general secretary, will also be given a higher position in the organisation.

There were earlier reports of Deepthi allegedly holding talks with the CPM after being denied a seat in the Thrikkakara by-election. Deepthi Mary Varghese had denied these allegations. However, it is reported that the conflicts that arose during the by-elections made the leadership go out of favour with Deepthi.