Two-day liquor ban; District Collector issues order

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The District Collector has issued an order imposing a two-day liquor ban. District Collector Anu Kumari has imposed a complete liquor ban in the Vizhinjam ward of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in connection with the elections to be held on January 12. The complete liquor ban has been imposed in the area on January 12, the election day, and January 13, the counting day.

The local body elections were held in 100 wards in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipality, which has 101 wards. However, the elections in Vizhinjam were postponed following the death of a candidate in the ward. Although the election results are crucial for all three fronts, the ruling party BJP is watching the results more closely. The party strength in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipality is currently 50 for BJP, 29 for CPM, 19 for Congress and 2 for Independents.

The BJP, the largest single party, secured an absolute majority in the mayoral election with the support of independent councillor Pattoor Radhakrishnan. Therefore, the BJP wants to win the Vizhinjam election and secure an absolute majority and move forward without any other governance crises for five years. Meanwhile, with the assembly elections approaching, the Congress and the CPM are aiming for victory in the ward.