Elections will be held in Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Tirupathur, Ranipet, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi.
Dravidian majors in Tamil Nadu are getting ready yet again to face off in the local body elections of the nine newly carved districts in the state. In the next crucial election immediately after the Assembly polls held in April, the political parties will compete for local body posts in Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Tirupathur, Ranipet, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi. While AIADMK wants a comeback after a crushing defeat, DMK wants to continue its momentum and bag as many seats as it can.
A Supreme Court Vacation Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Aniruddha Bose on June 22, directed the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission to conduct the local body elections in the nine new districts and declare results before September 15. “We grant an extension of time to complete the entire election process, including publication/notification of election schedule and the result thereof before September 15, 2021, as the constitutional mandate to conduct elections in a time-bound manner,” the top court order said.
The nine districts were carved out from existing four districts and the elections to their local bodies were to be held before December 2019 after completing the delimitation process, for which they have now been given an extension. Political parties have already started preparations, with the DMK already holding district secretary-level meetings at the party state headquarters on Monday in which Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin participated.
In the meeting, Stalin exhorted the party district secretaries to chalk out a plan so that the DMK alliance wins all the seats, giving no room for the opposition. DMK alliance partner Congress is keen that the differences with the Dravidian party at the grassroot levels be ironed out and they get maximum seats to contest.
State Congress chief KS Alagiri told IANS, “Congress has performed extremely well in the recent Assembly elections and we expect at least 10% of the total seats in the local body polls to be allocated to us to contest the polls.” Sources in the DMK, however, told IANS that Congress does not have grassroot machinery in the state but would consider providing the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, a movement predominant with Dalit cadres more seats in the ensuing elections as the VCK have a good grassroot presence in these districts.
The AIADMK is on a sticky wicket after losing power and the arrival of former interim general secretary VK Sasikala pitching her claims to lead the party. While both senior leaders, K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam put up a brave front, there are resentments at the grassroot levels as Sasikala tries to remain relevant by releasing audio clippings of her conversation with the AIADMK cadres in various parts of the state on a daily basis.
The AIADMK is also worried that the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) floated by Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dhinakaran will create problems by eating into its vote share. Even as the AIADMK has dismissed its spokesperson Pugazhendhi for having been vocally critical of PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, the party cadres do not feel that the PMK leadership has that bonhomie with the AIADMK and that there are several differences of opinion at the grassroot level between the PMK and AIADMK leadership, both at the micro and macro levels.
A senior leader of the AIADMK from Northern Tamil Nadu told IANS on conditions of anonymity, “If PMK does not support us in north Tamil Nadu, then it will be curtains and I don’t think that the issues between the AIADMK and the PMK at several places of the state have died down. We have to immediately reach a solution to this vexing problem or we will face the music in the local body polls.”
Another issue confronting the AIADMK is BJP state president L Murugan for making it known that the alliance with the Dravidian party was only for the Assembly polls and that things are open. While the BJP is not a big force to reckon with in Tamil Nadu, it has pockets of influence and this could also in turn create problems for the AIADMK at the grassroot levels if things are not sorted out.
Source: The News Minute