The maiden session of the newly elected Kochi Corporation council was held on Tuesday (January 6, 2026).

The maiden session of the newly elected Kochi Corporation council was held on Tuesday (January 6, 2026).
| Photo Credit: File

The election to the eight Standing Committees of the Kochi Corporation was not held on Wednesday (January 7, 2026) after rival frontswithdrew from filing nominations in line with an informal understanding as the United Democratic Front (UDF) was poised to secure a majority in all committees owing to its numerical strength in the council.

In the 76-member council, the UDF holds 47 seats, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) 22, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) six. All councillors must be member of one Standing Committee or another. The Finance, Development, and Welfare committees each have 10 members, while the Health, Public Works, Town Planning, Tax Appeal, and Education and Sports committees comprise nine members each. By convention, the deputy mayor serves as chairperson of the Finance committee.

The UDF allotted three slots each to the Indian Union Muslim League in the Finance, Public Works, and Tax Appeal committees, and one to the Kerala Congress in the Health committee. The BJP nominated two members each to the Tax Appeal and Education committees, and one each to the Development and Welfare committees.

The UDF secured seven members to the LDF’s three in the Finance committee. The Development and Welfare committees have six members each from the UDF, three each from the LDF, and one each from the BJP. The Health and Public Workscommittees comprise six members each from the UDF and three each from the LDF. The Town Planning committee has five members from the UDF and four from the LDF. The Tax Appeal committee includes six members from the UDF, one from the LDF, and two from the BJP. The Education and Sports committee has five members from the UDF and two each from the LDF and the BJP.

Woman member

The day’s proceedings began withthe nomination of a woman member to each of the eight committees, as mandated by law. Only the UDF nominated members. With elections avoided, the entire process, which began at 10 a.m., concluded by noon. Additional District Magistrate Vinod Raj served as the returning officer.

A minor wrangle occurred before the proceedings began, as majority of the 22 LDF councillors were missing when the council hall door was closed. Many of themreportedly mistook the timing to be 10.30 a.m. instead of 10 a.m. They were eventually allowed in since no elections were involved. The LDF later alleged that some of its councillors had not received notice, and that several UDF and BJP councillors were also initially absent.

The election to the posts of standing committee chairpersons will be held on January 13 at 10.30 a.m.


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