Local body polls in Tamil Nadu after 3-years gap

After delaying the crucial polls for over three years, the Tamil Nadu government looks set to hold elections to local bodies, including Corporations an Municipalities in the state by the end of this year.

The AIADMK government, which was reluctant in holding the elections for a slew of reasons including its unpopularity among the people, has finally come around and has given the go-ahead to the State Election Commission (SEC) for conducting the elections.

The latest indication that the polls will be held came in the form of a gazette notification that the state government had issued in the first week of September asking District Election Officers to appoint Returning Officers (RO) to conduct the polls.

Sources told DH that the polls are likely to be held in two or three phases in November and December and new local bodies would be in place by the end of 2019. Also, the SEC has decided to increase the number of polling booths to 92,000.

“While elections to rural local bodies will be held through paper ballot, people will vote using EVMs in urban areas. The SEC has received EVMs from Kerala,” a senior government official told DH.

The state government was under pressure from various quarters, especially the Supreme Court, in conducting the local body polls, which should have originally been conducted in 2016. The polls then were cancelled by the Madras High Court on a petition filed by the DMK demanding completion of reservation of wards and delimitation.

Taking the litigation as an opportunity to delay the polls as it was in shambles following the death of its leader J Jayalalithaa, the ruling AIADMK gave one excuse or the other to postpone the elections. Also, the government was under pressure from the Centre to hold the polls – the Union Government had set holding elections as pre-condition for releasing funds meant for local bodies.

Also, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the government for failing to adhere to its promise of conducting elections after setting deadlines on their own.

The elections will be an acid test for both the AIADMK and DMK as this is the first time that the strength of the parties will be tested at the grassroots level after the demise of stalwarts – M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa.

The DMK is under pressure to repeat its stupendous performance in the April Lok Sabha polls, while for the AIADMK it is a do-or-die battle having tasted a humiliating defeat in the parliamentary elections.

The ruling party is depending on the “good work” of the government and the achievements made during Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s foreign trip, the DMK projects the AIADMK as an extension of the BJP, which is quite unpopular in Tamil Nadu.