UDF loses Kottayam municipality after BJP's 'surprise backing' to LDF's non-confidence motion

Kottayam (Kerala) [India], September 25 : The rule of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kottayam Municipality came to an end on Friday after a non-confidence motion moved by Left Democratic Front ( LDF) got a surprise backing from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In Kottayam Municipality, the member council comprises 22 members each from UDF and LDF while BJP has eight members.
After non-confidence was moved by the LDF, UDF abstained from voting and BJP in a surprise move supported the former thereby fulfilling the required quorum.
With this, 29 members supported the non-confidence and one vote became invalid. The UDF had won the Kottayam Municipality earlier with the support of independent candidate Bincy Sebastian, who had become the chairperson.
Earlier in September, UDF had lost Erattupetta municipality after a no-confidence motion brought in by the LDF got the backing of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
Meanwhile, reacting to the development, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee ( KPCC) president K Sudhakaran said, "Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and party secretary A Vijayaraghavan, who were speaking out against the BJP for gaining support from religious minorities and eyeing vote bank politics, should stop their secular rhetoric".
"This proves their hypocrisy. If Pinarayi Vijayan and Vijayaraghavan have any political morality, they should be ready to apologize to Kerala. The LDF's stance of preaching against the BJP while openly accepting the BJP's support for power is not in line with political decency. They should clarify whether the BJP's support in Kottayam municipality is with the knowledge of the CPI(M) state leadership," he added.