more-in The annual budget of the Kochi Corporation will be presented on Saturday. Deputy Mayor T.J. Vinod will present his second and probably last budget in the present council as he may step down after the budget. The budget will be presented at 10.30 a.m. on Saturday, followed by a discussion on March 27. The budget will be passed on March 28. Mr. Vinod, who was appointed the president of the District Congress Committee some time ago, has been focusing more on the political assignment. Though Mr. Vinod will step down as the Deputy Mayor after presenting the budget, he will continue as a councillor of the Corporation. The change of power will not be an easy task for the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) in the council as the relation between the Mayor Soumini Jain and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is at a low ebb. The district leaderships of the Congress and the IUML had tried in vain to to broker peace. The IUML representatives in the council, including works standing committee chairman P.M. Harris and councillor T.K. Ashraf, were seen openly confronting the Mayor on several occasions. Senior Congress leaders who had intervened in the issue had reportedly advised Mr. Vinod to hold the post till the issue is resolved. The selection of the new Deputy Mayor will also be a tough call for the UDF. The Deputy Mayor can be elected only from among the members of the finance standing committee of the Corporation.

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