DMK registers big win in Tamil Nadu urban polls
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has secured a big victory in the polls for urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu, as per the results announced on Tuesday
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has secured a big victory in the polls for urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu, as per the results announced on Tuesday. Three kinds of urban local bodies — corporations, municipalities and town panchayats — went to polls during these elections. The DMK, on its own has won 69.3% of the corporation seats, 61% of the municipality seats and 57.6% of the town panchayat seats. Its effective majority, along with its allies such as the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) is even bigger.
While the DMK’s victory is in keeping with its impressive performance in the 2021 assembly elections, where it won 56.8% of the 234 assembly constituencies (ACs) in the state, the latest results have come as a shocker to the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which has failed to cross even the 20% seat share threshold in each of the three local body polls. The AIADMK’s performance in these elections signifies a sharp deterioration compared to the assembly polls where it managed a seat share of 28.2%.
The DMK alliance has also registered a huge victory in the Greater Chennai Corporation, winning over 80% of the seats. Chief minister MK Stalin was the Mayor of Chennai after the 1996 elections.
The urban local body polls were last held in 2011. Elections were withheld for 10 years due to court cases over the issue of reservations. A comparison of the 2011 and 2021 results shows that the AIADMK has lost significant ground while the DMK has made big gains. To be sure, the AIADMK was in power when the elections were held in 2011.
Among other parties, DMK allies such as the Congress and the CPI (M) have made significant proportional gains compared to their 2011 performance. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made claims about these elections marking a beginning of its growing footprint in the state – the BJP contested the elections on its own without its ally AIADMK – a comparison of 2011 and 2021 results does not support this claim. The BJP did have a marginal presence in these local bodies even in the 2011 elections. Also, some of DMK allies have a greater seat share in these elections than the BJP.
Another important fact regarding the BJP’s performance is that most of its success — 50%, 38% and 73% of its corporation, municipality, and town panchayat seats, respectively — has come in the southern-most district of Kanyakumari. This is not exactly new ground for the BJP as it won the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency in the 2014 general elections. To be sure, the BJP has also won about four to six seats in town panchayats in other districts such as Tenkasi, Tuticorin, Coimbatore, and Tirupur.