Thiruvananthapuram Mayoral Election; CPM moves court seeking annulment of voting

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM has approached the court alleging irregularities in the mayoral election. The party is approaching the court seeking annulment of the poll. The party’s complain is that the 20 members who took oath had violated the rules. The CPM had protested against BJP's violation of rules.

CPM leader S P Deepak said the oath taken in the name of Balidhani, cannot be accepted. Only votes of those who took the oath as per the rules should be considered valid. The CPM alleged that 20 BJP and UDF members violated the rules and that the poll was illegal. The CPM demanded that the poll be held without those who violated the rules.

Meantime, V V Rajesh took oath as the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram. V V Rajesh won the election by securing 51 votes. He got the votes of 50 BJP members and one independent. UDF's K S Sabarinath got 17 votes. LDF's mayoral candidate R P Shivaji got 29 votes.

Thiruvananthapuram has been adorned with a tilak, said Union Minister Suresh Gopi. M R Gopan recommended V V Rajesh's name. Two votes of Congress became invalid. 97 were valid. The vote became invalid due to an error in signing. The votes of K R Cleitus and Lathika became invalid. Cleitus is a senior member of the council.