DMK, allies win civic polls in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK finishes close second

The MK Stalin-led DMK put up an impressive show in the recently held rural civic polls in Tamil Nadu as the opposition combine relegated the ruling AIADMK and its allies to the second spot.

According to the results declared so far, of the total 515 district panchayat ward member posts, the DMK won 242 while the AIADMK bagged 212. Of 5,090 panchayat union ward member posts, the DMK won 2,083 and the AIADMK bagged 1,761 seats. TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK won 95 seats in panchayat union ward member posts and emerged as the third largest party.

The local body elections were held in the southern state in two phases — on December 27 and 30 last year — after a gap of three years. Elections were held only in 27 districts, excluding the recently reconstituted ones. The counting, which began on January 2, lasted over 36 hours since the elections were conducted using ballot papers.

The DMK, which has been maintaining a lead since the beginning of the counting process, performed well in panchayat union ward member posts in Ariyalur, Erode, Tirupur, The Nilgiris, Krishnagiri, Sivangangai, Dindigul, Trichy, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvallur, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Pudukkottai and Perambalur.

Meanwhile, the AIADMK and its allies managed to save their vote banks in Coimbatore, Namakkal, Cuddalore, Karur, Salem, Dharmapuri, Thoothukudi and Theni. Ally BJP’s vote share increased from 1% in 2011 to 2% this time. It won 31 seats in Kanyakumari and scored in single digits in all districts, barring Ariyalur, Erode, Perambalur and Salem.

However, in the district panchayat ward member posts, the DMK lost its hold in Ariyalur, Erode, Sivagangai and Tirupur, and the AIADMK in Cuddalore and Dharmapuri.

Also read | Will civic poll outcome impact 2021 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu?

P Ramajayam, state coordinator, Lokniti – Programme for Comparative Democracies at the Centre for the Study of Developing Studies, said the results reflect the ground reality.

“The DMK won because it understood the problems at the grassroots level. If the urban civic polls were held at the same time, the opposition would have bagged a landslide victory in that as well. The results will definitely have an impact in the 2021 assembly elections,” he said.

It may also be noted that while the opposition parties were focusing more on the Citizenship law row, the ruling party has been silently focused on the local body elections. The DMK had also tried to delay the elections.

Ramajayam further explained how caste politics played its role in the recently held polls. “The AIADMK won in places where the dominant caste has its hold. For example, it won in Coimbatore, Namakkal and Salem, where Kongu Vellalar community is dominant. Likewise, in Dharmapuri and Cuddalore, ally PMK saved the ruling coalition. For the opposition combine, except the DMK and CPI, no other allies, like the Congress, VCK and CPI(M) managed to perform well,” he said.

Moreover, Ramajayam said the presence of BJP cannot be avoided at the grassroots level. “The BJP won in areas where there is a possibility of a communal strife, like Coimbatore and Kanyakumari,” said Ramajayam.

Also read | Ballot papers set ablaze during first phase of civil polls in Tamil Nadu

Speaking about the 2021 assembly elections, Ramajayam said the remaining one year will be crucial for the AIADMK to turn the wind in its favour. “Now, the DMK has its fold in the three tier governance. It has 39 MPs in the Parliament, which is the first tier, and 124 MLAs in the state assembly, the second tier. In the third tier, in the rural local bodies, it now has over 200 district panchayat members and more than 2,000 panchayat union ward members,” he said.

“In a contrast, the AIADMK has majority only in the assembly. Lok Sabha constituencies, where assembly segments are held by the AIADMK, will have the MP and local body members from the opposition parties. It will be interesting to see how the AIADMK candidates perform in such a critical situation during the assembly polls,” he said.

Nandakumar Shiva, general secretary, Thannaatchi, an organisation working towards creating awareness about the powers of the local bodies, said the party symbol plays a major role in local body elections as well. “The ruling party hasn’t faced much opposition. But, at the same time, there was a wind of support for the DMK,” he said.

However, in panchayat president elections, the youth and first timers have given a tough competition to the politicians, he added. “Those working well in their localities for the past few years without any political affiliation have emerged victories,” said Shiva.