Kochi to have two Mayors and Deputy Mayors in five years; first term for VK Minimol and Deepak Joy

KOCHI: It has been decided to share the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor in Kochi. Adv VK Minimol will be the mayor for the first two and a half years, and then Shiny Mathew will take over. KPCC General Secretary Deepti Mary Varghese, who was considered for the post of Mayor, was dropped. Deepti suffered a setback when the Latin Catholic church hardened its stance for the post of Mayor. The post of Deputy Mayor will be shared by the A and I groups. First, Deepak Joy and then KVP Krishnakumar will be the Deputy Mayor. The Congress assesses that the decision has been made to maintain communal balance.

Mahila Congress State Vice President VK Minimol is a representative of Group I. Mahila Congress District Secretary Shiny is a member of Group A. Most of the Congress councillors are with Group A. The I Group supported Minimol because it recognised the risk of making Deepthi, who is of little interest to the Latin Catholic church, the Mayor in this situation.

The I group was able to secure group supremacy by making Minimole the mayor, highlighting her former standing committee chairpersonship and administrative experience. The A and I groups reached a consensus by also taking into account the demands of the Latin congregation. The fact that Deepti is not a Latin Catholic also became a setback.