CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby arrives at an LDF election convention in the city on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M.A. Baby said here on Wednesday that the massive turnout of devotees at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on Tuesday had upset the calculations of the Travancore Devaswom Board.
“However, the board leadership has been able to take control of the situation without much problems,” he said in his inaugural address at a convention organised by the Left Democratic Front in connection with the election to the Kochi Corporation.
He said that the “fruitful discussions” held at the global Ayyappa summit in Sabarimala might have resulted in a spike in the number of pilgrims in connection with the annual pilgrimage season.
Mr. Baby said that financial assistance worth around ₹70,000 crore had been distributed to local bodies in the second term of the Left front government since 2021. He alleged that the corresponding assistance provided by the government under the United Democratic Front between 2011 and 2016 was ₹30,000 crore only.
He claimed that the government had been able to make gains in various sectors despite the negative impact of the capitalist policies pursued by the Union government. The government had also promulgated laws that held officials accountable for delaying the services to people, he said.
He said that the Left front rule in the Kochi Corporation improved the waste management scenario at Brahmapuram through scientific initiatives. He also listed the Samridhi@Kochi, a budget hotel jointly operated by the civic body and the Kudumbashree, among the achievements of the outgoing council.
Industries Minister P. Rajeeve, Mayor M. Anilkumar, and S. Sathish, CPI(M) district secretary, spoke.
Published – November 19, 2025 08:12 pm IST
