The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has put up an impressive performance in the rural local body elections in the central region, securing a majority in district panchayats in six of eight central districts. The AIADMK managed to gain majority in the district panchayats of Ariyalur and Karur.
The DMK’s most striking performance came from Tiruchi, Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts as it relegated the AIADMK to single digits in district panchayats and panchayat unions.
Claiming that the commanding performance of the party in the region was on expected lines, former Minister and DMK Tiruchi south district secretary K.N. Nehru said the party always performed well in local body elections. “We had won most of the seats in the civic polls even in 1986 when former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran was riding the crest of a wave with three successive electoral wins,” Mr. Nehru said. The results were a forerunner to the party’s victory in the Assembly elections, he added.
AIADMK routed
The party trounced the AIADMK in Tiruchi and Thanjavur districts. In the 24-member district panchayat council in Tiruchi district, the party won 18 wards. The DMK’s ally, the Congress won another ward, leaving just five to the AIADMK. The party cornered a lion’s share of seats in the panchayat unions, winning 146 out of the 241 seats. The DMK and its allies are set to bag the chairmanship in at least a dozen of the 14 panchayat unions.
In Thanjavur, the party won 21 of the 28 district panchayat wards, leaving six to the AIADMK (The result of one ward was not officially announced till late on Friday evening). Apart from retaining its sway over the delta region by winning a majority of district panchayat seats in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam, the DMK made deep inroads into the turf of Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar to win 11 of the 22 wards in the Pudukottai district panchayat.
The Congress strengthened the alliance tally by winning two wards. The AIADMK could manage only eight seats while its ally, the Tamil Maanila Congress, won from a ward. The DMK won 113 of the 225 panchayat union wards and secured a clear majority in eight of the 13 panchayat unions, including the Viralimalai Panchayat Union, Dr. Vijayabaskar’s native, in the district. In Perambalur, the DMK won seven of the eight district panchayat wards and the AIADMK triumphed in just one ward.
The AIADMK, however, won a comfortable majority in Karur district panchayat with nine seats, leaving three to the DMK. The ruling party won 66 of the 115 panchayat union wards in the district while the DMK bagged 33. The AIADMK secured a comfortable majority in six of the eight panchayat unions in the district.
Ariyalur goes to AIADMK
In Ariyalur, the AIADMK decimated the DMK winning eight of the 12 wards in the district panchayat. The DMK could manage only one district panchayat seat while three other wards went to ‘others.’ However, the DMK put up a better show in the panchayat unions winning 40 of the 112 wards, while the AIADMK won 35 seats.
The Left parties, especially the CPI, put up a good show in Tiruvarur, a traditional Left bastion. The CPI won three district panchayat seats and 21 panchayat union wards. The CPI (M) won one district panchayat and three panchayat union wards in the district.
