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Young faces elected as DMK mayors in 20 TN civic bodies
The indirect elections to the posts of mayor, deputy mayors in corporations, chairmen in municipalities and presidents in town panchayats were held on Friday following which the new leaders were sworn in.
Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s new mayors and heads of municipalities and panchayats were sworn in on Friday, and it was a show of young and educated leaders who are new faces, indicating that the DMK is preparing for the second line of leadership as the party aims to remain in power for the next decade.
The indirect elections to the posts of mayor, deputy mayors in corporations, chairmen in municipalities and presidents in town panchayats were held on Friday following which the new leaders were sworn in.
The DMK has a brute majority in the corporations and most of the municipalities and panchayats. Out of the 21 corporations, the DMK fielded its candidates in 20 corporations for the top post of mayor leaving a lone one in Kumbakonam corporation to its main ally Congress where the national party’s candidate, an auto driver K Saravanan, was elected unopposed.
But controversies erupted after DMK cadre contested in seats allotted to alliance partners and won. Following this, chief minister M K Stalin, who is also DMK president, warned his cadre to immediately step down or face expulsion. “These candidates have contested in the DMK symbol and brought disrepute to the party. They have to resign from their posts immediately. District secretaries must take immediate action against them,” Stalin said in a statement. He also expressed his regret to alliance party leaders over the issue.
As it was just a formality for 28-year-old R Priya was elected unopposed as is the first Dalit woman and also the youngest mayor for the Greater Chennai Corporation. She was sworn in flanked by DMK heavy weights and Stalin’s closest aides-cum-ministers P K Sekar Babu and M Subramanian (who was Chennai’s mayor between 2006 and 2011). Stalin was Chennai mayor from 1996-2002. There was criticism, however, that Priya was about to give her first press conference after taking oath but backed out.
Chennai’s new deputy mayor Mahesh Kumar also turned heads when he thanked not just Stalin and his son and MLA Udhaynidhi but also Sabareesan (Stalin’s son-in-law). Sabareesan doesn’t occupy a formal position in the DMK but is a powerful player behind the scenes within the first family.
Besides Priya, the ruling party had on Thursday fielded as many as 20 undergraduates and 11 post graduates, most of whom took oath as mayors and deputy mayors– the final tally is yet to be released. In simple terms, out of the 35 DMK candidates for mayors and deputy mayors, 31 of them have an educational qualification.
A senior DMK leader said that it was Stalin’s idea to give new faces and educated youngsters an opportunity so that the next generation of leaders can be groomed. While district secretaries prepared the list based on these instructions, Stalin made the final choices. “The idea is to groom these youngsters, this is also a test for them so they can be chosen for important positions in the party and the government in the coming decades,” the DMK leader said.
When asked if youth wing leader Udhayanidhi also had his mind set on youngsters, the leader said that suggestions were definitely made by ministers and MLAs, including Udhaynidhi, but Stalin’s word was final. He added that Udhaynidhi’s close aide Chitarasu’s name was floated for Chennai’s deputy mayor post but it went to Mahesh Babu believed to be close to minister Sekar Babu.
