Former MLA A V Gopinath, who joined LDF, loses; BJP ahead in Palakkad municipalities

PALAKKAD: Former MLA A V Gopinath has lost in Peringottukurissi. The Independent Democratic Front (IDF) led by Gopinath contested in eleven seats and lost seven of them. Gopinath contested in the ninth ward. He lost to the Congress candidate by 130 votes.

A V Gopinath is former DCC president of Palakkad. Gopinath was once known as the ‘Oommen Chandy of Peringottukurissi’. He recently joined the LDF and the IDF and the CPM contested the local body elections as a front.

Gopinath entered the contest claiming that the Peringottukurissi grama panchayat was going to end its fifty-year Congress rule and that the CPI and a section of the Muslim League were with them.

He had earlier said that it was the Left Front that brought development to the local bodies in the state. The Congress had made it clear then that Gopinath was not a threat to them. Meantime, the BJP is presently leading in the Palakkad municipality. The BJP is leading in five seats in the Palakkad municipality. The BJP won ten seats in Shoranur. The LDF chairman and vice chairman lost in Chittoor Thathamangalam.

783 candidates were in the fray for the seven municipalities in the district. Out of these, everyone is looking at the Palakkad municipality. All wants to know whether the BJP, which has been in power for the last two terms, will score a hat-trick this time. The BJP became the single largest party by winning 28 of the total 52 seats. This time, there are 53 wards after the ward division. A majority of 27 seats is required. The BJP is contesting 51 seats and the BDJS is contesting two seats. The Muslim League has candidates in nine seats in the UDF. An independent candidate is contesting one seat and the rest are from the Congress.