Ending the stalemate in the administration of the Kannur Corporation, the UDF won a no-confidence motion against Mayor E.P. Latha of the LDF, with the support of Deputy Mayor P.K. Ragesh.
The vote of Mr. Ragesh, an independent, was decisive in the 55-member council, where both the fronts have 27 members each.
The passing of the no-trust motion was a predictable outcome with the support of Mr. Ragesh, a former Congress leader who had contested as independent after he had differences with senior Congress leader and his former mentor K. Sudhakaran, MP.
Mr. Ragesh's decicion to vote for the UDF's no-trust motion followed parleys between him and the UDF leadership in the wake of Lok Sabha polls.
District collector T.V. Subhash presided over the council meeting that began at 9 a.m. to discuss the motion to be concluded with the voting. When the voting ended at 2 p.m. the motion was supported by 28 members including Mr. Ragesh. The LDF's 26 members present at the meeting voted against motion. The death of CPI(M)’s councillor T.M. Kuttikrishnan here has reduced the number of the LDF to 26.
