PBMC: Blood Brothers!

LOA Vol 36 - Issue - 02 - 15 Oct 2012

PBMC: Blood Brothers!

P. B. Murugan of the Congress has been elevated as the new Chairperson for the third year term of the Council, strangely unopposed. Subsequently M. Arumugam and Indrapal Singh have been elected as Senior Vice Chairman and Junior Vice Chairman of the Council respectively. The first year being reserved for a Lady Chairperson, saw Firdaus Bibi get elected with a little help from a defector of the BJP. The Council originally had nine Congress Councilors, four BJP, two RJD, one TMC, TDP and DMK each.

Congress had gone to polls alone without any ally. Midway through her tenure Firdaus Bibi got a few more supporters in the eighteen member council. Credit for increase in her support strength goes to a nominated councilor Sudeep Rai Sharma who was inducted along with 2 other nominated councilors for adding experience to the bunch of mostly inexperienced Councilors. This, being the rationale put forth by the Congress President in his recent interview to LoA. The second year term saw history being made at the Council as the lady retained her position by virtue of the experienced nominated councilor putting his weight around. First two years of the present council had its fair share of headlines and controversies in the local press. P.B. Murugan had a mild cardiac stroke prior to becoming the first citizen of Port Blair city and could be thanking his stars for getting the top spot at the council.

The experience imparting nominated councilor coupled with his blood ties with the Congress Supremo had other designs for the third year, but by virtue of his high-handedness for the last two terms lost out to the original Congress, lead by the more experienced K. Ganeshan and M. Arumugam. However, these two gentlemen also paid in terms of losing the coveted post for their mini rebellion which ultimately went to a more acceptable P.B. Murugan proposed by the PCC President as a forced compromise to appease the rebels, predominantly of a community which does not trust Kuldeep after the quarry exploits and to waive off any vindictive action by the new Chairman on the misappropriation of Sudeep Rai Sharma controlled Firdaus Bibi regime. This time around in a no holds bar tussle it was the nominated councilor versus the rest, even the BJP, RJD and DMK supported the original Congress. Election to the chair of the sub-committees in the Council saw original Congress councilors leading the committees. The experience imparting nominated councilor along with his four new Congress councilors including the ex two consecutive terms Chairperson, first year BJP defector, a TMC defector and a TDP fence sitter were left nursing the inflated ego of the experienced nominated councilor. Post election to the sub committees saw some altercation at Gandhi Bhavan between the new Congress group led by Sudeep and the State Congress leadership sans the PCC president who luckily was on a private visit to Havelock after the swearing in ceremony of Adhyaksha, Zilla Parishad South Andaman. Going by the track record of the Sudeep Rai Sharma, the Congress supremo Kuldeep Rai Sharma has his hands full not from the opposition but his own family and partymen at PBMC.