DINDIGUL
The party high command’s decision to propose the name of J Illamathi (42) for the Mayor of Dindigul Corporation came as a surprise to the DMK party functionaries here on Thursday.
The candidate, a second time councillor, would be the first woman Mayor of Dindigul and the first DMK’s Mayor after the city got upgraded as the Corporation in 2011, the AIADMK had Marudaraj as its Mayor till 2016 with Thulasiram also from the AIADMK as the Deputy Mayor.
For the Deputy Mayor post, the DMK had nominated S Rajappa (56), who was a councillor for two times in the past. Elected from the 32nd ward, he has been with the party for long time and is aware of the civic issues, the party functionaries said and added that they were surprised about the choice of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor candidates, but happy over the selection since they have come from nowhere.
Till Tuesday, both the names of Ms Illamathi and Mr Rajappa were not in the list of probable candidates within the DMK leaders in Dindigul district and when the announcement was made official, the party men initially hesitated, but greeted them by visiting to their houses.
Out of the 48 wards in the Dindigul Corporation, the DMK front has bagged 37 seats, while the AIADMK has 5 seats, BJP with one and five others including Independents.
