TN: DMK Promotes Youth, First-Timers to Lead Urban Local Bodies

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which emerged victorious in the recently concluded urban local body election (ULB), bagged a massive majority in the indirect elections to the heads of the ULB.

Plenty of young faces, first-timers and educated candidates were promoted by the DMK to these posts. It is seen as a move to re-energise the party and pave the way for the next generation of the party.

The trend is similar to what the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) did in the local body elections in the neighbouring state of Kerala in 2020.

Indirect elections for 1,296 posts in urban local bodies took place on March 4. The elections for heads of the corporation, municipalities and town panchayats were peaceful in most areas.

DMK won 20 out of 21 mayors for municipal corporations, and allocated Kumbakonam mayor to its ally, Congress.

Among the allies, the deputy mayor’s post in Madurai corporation was allotted to CPI(M), and in Tiruppur corporation to Communist Party of India (CPI). Similarly, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) got deputy mayor post of Avadi, and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) was given Cuddalore.

11 WOMEN MAYORS

DMK's Priya Rajan (28), an M.Com graduate, was elected unopposed as the first Dalit and third woman mayor of the Greater Chennai Corporation. The post is considered significant as chief minister MK Stalin and Health Minister Ma Subramanian held the position in the past.

Earlier the DMK government passed orders to reserve the mayor’s post in Chennai and Tambaram Corporation for women from the Scheduled Caste community. K Vasanthakumari, an engineering graduate, is the new mayor of Tambaram.

In 2016, under the leadership of the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa of the AIADMK, 50% reservation for women was implemented in local bodies.

Kalpana Anandakumar (40) was elected as Coimbatore Corporation's first female mayor and the first DMK mayor in the city.

DMK's Indirani Ponvasanth (43) was elected unopposed as the second female mayor of Madurai Corporation. She belongs to the SC community. Her husband Ponvasanth, an advocate, is an aide to finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan.

Amid high drama, R Sundari of the ruling DMK was elected the first mayor of the newly formed Cuddalore Corporation in the indirect elections held on March 4.

The DMK named Kavitha Ganesan (43) as the first Mayor of Karur, upgraded into a Corporation recently. She earlier served as the chairperson of Inam Karur municipality from 2006 to 2011.

Sangeetha Inbam is the Mayor of Sivakasi Corporation. The Deputy Mayor of the Corporation is also a woman.

Mahalakshmi Yuvaraj, who quit her job as a senior software engineer in Infosys, will head the Kanchipuram municipal corporation.

Ilamathi (42) is the mayor of Dindigul and Sujatha Anandakumar (38) of Vellore.

Many women are new to public life, and their husbands or fathers are ardent DMK functionaries.

HEADS OF MUNICIPALITIES & TOWN PANCHAYATS

DMK candidates were elected to 125 Chairperson posts out of the 138 municipalities across the state and 395 of the total 489 Town Panchayat president posts.

Whereas the AIADMK got only two municipality chairpersons and 18 town panchayat presidents.

The DMK alliance parties Congress, MDMK, and VCK got each chairperson. Four independents also won the post.

Congress won 20 town panchayat president posts and BJP won eight.

CPI(M) won in three town panchayat seats. MDMK won in two places, while CPI and VCK won one each.

The EC said the indirect elections for some of these posts could not be held due to a lack of quorum.

DESPERATE BJP, AIADMK

The BJP had influenced some of the DMK councillors in Kanyakumari to vote in their favour, but it did not yield results.

BJP fielded a mayoral candidate for Nagercoil city corporation, winning 11 out of 52 wards. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which won in seven wards, extended the party's support. However, although the DMK alliance won 32 seats, the DMK candidate Mahesh won only by 28 votes.

The urban local body polls were a debacle for the AIADMK in terms of total vote share and seats. The party continued to take disciplinary action against members who went against the party's high command.

The AIADMK, on February 4, expelled all its six newly-elected councillors of the Chinnamanur municipality in the Theni district along with the party's town unit secretary for supporting the DMK candidate in the election for the post of chairperson. This is disastrous for the party because Theni is considered a party's stronghold, and the state Coordinator O Panneerselvam hails from the district.

A few areas witnessed clashes between the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). Indirect elections to chairperson posts in two town panchayats in Coimbatore were postponed due to “law and order" issues.