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DMK set to sweep Tamil Nadu local body polls in 9 areas
DMK president and Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin called this victory of his party and its allies in the elections to rural local bodies in nine districts as a “recognition for the five-month-old government.”
The ruling DMK, which formed the government in May after a gap of 10 years, continued its winning streak, drubbing the AIADMK-led alliance in the two-phase local body elections in the nine newly created districts in Tamil Nadu. The ruling party was on course to winning all the nine district panchayats -- Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi -- that went to elections on October 6 and 9.
DMK president and chief minister M K Stalin called this victory of his party and its allies in the elections to rural local bodies in nine districts as a “recognition for the five-month-old government.” He recalled how they took over when the second wave of Covid-19 was peaking and added that they not just brought the disease under control but also protected the livelihood of people.
“I have been saying that the popularity of DMK has increased after the assembly elections and the results of the election have proved me right,” he said in a statement.
The DMK, had established a lead from the counting of votes which began on Tuesday and won a majority of seats. Official results are yet to be released by the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission. “This is a recognition given by the people to the DMK’s achievements and governance. People have voted for the party as they believed that the DMK government would keep up its poll assurances,” Stalin said.
But the principal opposition, the AIADMK, which had won 66 seats in the April 6 assembly elections despite facing 10 years of anti-incumbency and barely made a presence this time, alleged that the DMK “unleashed unprecedented violence” in the civic polls and won “through back door.” In a joint statement, party coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami said the DMK cadre indulged in violence. “The DMK reduced the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission into its puppet,” they said.
Elections were held to fill 27,003 posts including 140 district panchayat ward members, 74 panchayat unions, 1,381 panchayat union ward members, 2,901 village panchayat presidents and 22,581 village panchayat ward councillors. The Paatali Makkal Katchi (PMK) which went into these elections alone and didn’t contest along with the AIADMK-led NDA alliance was also leading in a few seats. PMK’s founder S Ramadoss claimed that the local body election results have proved that his party is the third major political force in Tamil Nadu after the ruling DMK and the AIADMK which had ruled the State. “Our victory is honourable and respectable,” he said. The party has a stronghold in seven out of the nine districts where elections were held.
While actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) and S Seeman’s Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) could not win any district or union wards, the breakaway faction of the AIADMK--AMMK led by T T V Dhinakaran was ahead in in 5 seats and DMDK of actor-turned-politician Vijayakant was leading in one ward.
