Here, veteran trade unionist takes on senior Congress leader
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The Island North division of the Kochi Corporation, comprising a piece of Willingdon Island with solely a small clutch of voters, will see a contest between a senior Congress leader and a veteran trade union leader, each recognized to folks within the space.
N. Venugopal, a Mayor possible for the United Democratic Front (UDF), will contest from Island North this time, slightly than the neighbouring Island South, from the place he posted victories in 2005 and 2010. The Congress leader who has additionally represented the mixed division of Island North and Island South in 2000, when the 2 areas have been but to be constituted as separate divisions, is assured of a win.
Pitted towards Mr. Venugopal is Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate C.D. Nandakumar, normal secretary of the CITU-affiliated Cochin Port Employees’ Organisation.
A debutant, he’s banking on his sway over a piece of port staff in addition to familiarity with workers at different institutions, because of his tenure as a technician on the Port Trust. In 20 years, the LDF has bagged the seat as soon as, in 2010. Padmakumari T.A. is the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate.
With solely 649 voters, the division might be one of many smallest within the State, Mr. Venugopal mentioned. Restrictions on portray partitions and sticking posters on authorities property maintain the marketing campaign muted.
The variety of voters had been shrinking since 2005, when the approaching of the Vallarpadam container terminal diminished the necessity for employees on the island and retirees weren’t changed with new hires, he mentioned. The determine had dipped from practically 1,500 within the yr 2000. The polling proportion stood solely at about 50%, he added.
Mr. Nandakumar attracts on this stagnation and the monetary disaster of the Cochin Port in his marketing campaign. “Kochi is a port city, but problems associated with the port, which is a significant source of revenue for the local body, have rarely become a subject of discussion at the corporation.
As traditional cargo handling activities fall at the island, we should be able to attract tourists, but the corporation has never had any sort of vision for the area, which has become dormant. The corporation can play a crucial role in its revival,” he mentioned.
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