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TN urban local body poll: Lotus blooming, says BJP chief after slamming DMK over ‘power abuse’
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai called the election results a “great victory”, and said despite the party's loss, its vote percentage makes him “happy”.
As the MK Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) emerged as the clear winner of the urban local body polls in Tamil Nadu, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it is happy with its performance.
State BJP president K Annamalai thanked party workers for the performance while talking about becoming the third alternative in the state. His statement came hours after he accused the ruling camp of misusing power during the election and said he would move the high court over the matter.
“The BJP has emerged as the third party in Tamil Nadu. I thank the leaders who worked hard for the victory of our candidates,” Annamalai was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
He said that despite the loss, the vote percentage which the saffron party managed to get, makes him “happy”. Calling the results “a great victory” for the BJP, Annamalai said the party has managed to gain in many places in the southern state where it had no presence earlier. “We are making Lotus bloom in every nook and corner,” he said at a press briefing.
Earlier, he said the way the DMK conducted the polls on February 19 was shameful. “A total misuse and abuse of power, along with violence. The BJP is moving the Madras high court today, with all our complaints and demands of a repoll in specific booths,” he said.
He also alleged that people were not coming out to exercise their franchise in fear of DMK workers standing outside voting areas.
According to latest updates, the DMK has won 425 wards in corporations, while its arch rival AIADMK has managed to win 75. In municipalities and panchayat seats, the ruling camp has won 1,832 and 4,261 seats, respectively - AIADMK has so far emerged victorious in 494 and 1,178 seats, respectively.
In Chennai, the DMK won in 133 of the 200 wards, followed by the AIADMK in 15. The BJP could win one ward.
The DMK looked strong in the western region of the southern state as well - which was inclined towards the AIADMK and BJP alliance in last year's assembly polls.
In Coimbatore, where the DMK failed to win any of the 10 assembly seats in last year's assembly polls, the ruling camp and its allies of the Congress and Left parties, have bagged 11 wards while the AIADMK one.
The urban local body elections took place in Tamil Nadu after 11 years because the previous AIADMK-led regime refrained from conducting them five years ago. Polls were held in 21 municipal corporations, 138 municipal councils, and 489 town panchayats. As many as 57,778 candidates are in the fray for 12,607 posts.
In the 2021 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, the BJP ended a more than decade-long wait to have its leaders in the Assembly. It emerged as the third largest even there by winning four of the 20 seats it had contested. The highlight of the polls was the triumph of the saffron camp's national women wing president Vanathi Srinivasan, who edged past Tamil star and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president Kamal Haasan.
Earlier in the day, Stalin took to Twitter to thank the people of Tamil Nadu for the urban local body election results, hailing the “Dravidian model” of governance for the victory.
