Tamil Nadu (TN) Chief Minister (CM) MK Stalin's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) made a clean sweep in the state's urban civic polls on Tuesday, 22 February. This is the party's fourth consecutive win in these polls.
Reacting to the win, Stalin said it reflected the people's faith in the DMK government, reported NDTV.
In Greater Chennai Corporation, the DMK won 153 of the 200 wards while AIADMK managed to grab 15. DMK’s allies also captured a signigicant number of seats – Congress (13), CPI(M) (4), CPI(1) VCK (4), MDMK (2), and IUML (1), while the BJP won one seat.
The DMK also won 75 percent of the seats in western Tamil Nadu. The All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) had swept the polls in western Tamil Nadu last year.
Till Tuesday evening, out of the total 1,374 corporation wards in the state, the DMK had won 425 and the main opposition AIADMK 75. In municipalities, of the 3,843 ward member seats, the DMK won 1,832 till late evening and the AIADMK 494. In town panchayats, the DMK had won in 4,261 seats of 7,621, while the AIADMK got 1,178 town seats till late evening.
Stalin, Other Leaders React to Win
In his speech, Stalin asked his cadres to remain humble and said that their work should make those who had not voted for them regret it, according to The Indian Express.
Stalin also credited the win to the support of alliance partners and added that "the increased representation of women candidates in this election means these results are a real revolution of Dravidian political ideals", the report added.
"We wholeheartedly thank all the voters for their immense faith and trust! In yet another monumental victory, the people of Tamil Nadu have voted overwhelmingly in support of the DMK in the local body elections," tweeted Dayanidhi Maran.
"AIADMK bows before the people's verdict. This is an artificial victory for the ruling party. AIADMK will surely win again," said AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam.
The candidates contested from 21 corporations, 138 municipalities, 490 town panchayats, and 649 other urban local bodies.
This comes after MK Stalin became the chief minister of the state, following the 2021 TN Assembly election, in which the DMK defeated the AIADMK – ending the 10-year reign of the latter.
Allegations by AIADMK
Meanwhile, the AIADMK alleged that there were serious irregularities in the polling process.
The Madras High Court on Tuesday also turned down a plea by the AIADMK for the deployment of paramilitary troops for the election.
The polls were conducted on 19 February after a decade-long gap. The voter turnout was 60.7 percent.
(With inputs from NDTV and Indian Express.)
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