CHENNAI: The confidence of the AIADMK, which parted ways with the BJP ahead of the urban local body polls, was clearly misplaced. In 2016, J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK swept the assembly election on its own.
The AIADMK, now led by coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami, struggled to retain even its western stronghold. The opposition party managed to win 2,008 of the 12,470 wards spread over corporations, municipalities and town panchayats, a miniscule compared to the ruling DMK’s victories.
Said Panneerselvam: “The DMK has achieved an artificial victory. Had the elections been held in a free and fair manner, the AIADMK would have recorded a resounding victory. The election does not reflect the sentiments of the people. ”
The dual leadership undertook elaborate campaigns across Tamil Nadu to explain the earlier AIADMK government’s efforts to do away with NEET, and reeled out a long list of achievements. The AIADMK argued that there was visible discontentment on the ground against the DMK over its unimplemented poll promises.
The ruling party turned the poll rhetoric into a DMK Vs BJP battle. Even as senior BJP leaders insisted that the alliance with the AIADMK would continue for the general elections, a section in the AIADMK pointed to apprehensions by minority groups about the party’s next move. The AIADMK lost Periyakulam and Edappadi municipalities, the native villages of OPS and EPS, as well, reiterating the DMK’s poll sweep.
AIADMK steering committee member C Ve Shanmugam said the ruling party winning the local body polls held soon after the assembly election was nothing unusual. “The perception of the people is that the ruling party has four more years. Moreover, a local body election never saw so much cash flow,” the former minister said.
The DMK swept the western belt, but the AIADMK leaders say that “local poll dynamics” were at play and it would not reflect in the general or assembly elections. “The AIADMK chose to ignore the local issues in their campaigns, while DMK president M K Stalin scored there. Moreover, EPS and OPS seemed to be acting in tune with the BJP. They did not react to the suicide of the Ariyalur girl or the hijab controversy,” said former AIADMK MP K C Palanisamy.
The AIADMK, which contested virtually alone, lost Orathanadu town panchayat to T T V Dhinakaran’s AMMK. For the AIADMK, losing a considerable vote base in southern districts is a bigconcern.
