DMK alliance on top in Tamil Nadu urban local body elections

CHENNAI: The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) – led Secular Progressive Alliance on Tuesday, February 22, registered a runaway victory in the urban local body elections of Tamil Nadu. The elections were held after a gap of over 10 years on February 19. The DMK alliance comprises of the Congress, the Left parties, the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK), and other outfits. The alliance managed to capture all the 21 municipal corporations in the state and almost all of the municipalities and town panchayats.

The elections in Tamil Nadu were held for 12,838 positions in 649 urban local bodies, comprising 21 municipal corporations, 138 municipalities, and 490 town panchayats. In the end, 57,778 contenders competed for 12,607 positions. Elections for 12 posts were cancelled, and polling for six posts in five districts was postponed after death of few candidates.

DMK won over two-third of the 12,800 plus ward member posts. The alliance won 183 wards in the Greater Chennai Corporation. The DMK party alone managed to win 946 wards in corporations (total 1373 seats), 2360 in municipalities (total 3842 seats), and 4388 in town panchayats (total 7605 seats). The Congress won 73 corporation ward seats, 151 municipal wards, and 368 town panchayat seats. M K Stalin, DMK President and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, said that the party’s victory is a recognition of the Dravidian model development and nine months of DMK governance.

The AIADMK has remained a distant second, while the BJP has risen to third place in the polls. Bhartiya Janata Party outperformed many regional players in the elections. Candidates of BJP won posts in 308 wards across corporations, municipalities and town panchayats. A total of 218 candidates were declared unopposed in the election.