DMK has secured a landslide victory in Chennai in the urban local body elections, which were held last week after nearly 11 years in Tamil Nadu. As of 8 pm, the party has won the majority of all corporations, municipalities and town panchayats in the state; in Chennai, out of a total of 200 Corporation wards, DMK has won 153. Fifty percent of seats — that is, 100 of the 200 wards in the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) — were reserved for women. Elections were held for 21 corporations (1,374 wards), 138 municipalities (3,843 wards) and 490 town panchayats (7,621 wards) in the state on Saturday, February 19.
The 21 corporations are Avadi, Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Dindigul, Erode, Hosur, Kancheepuram, Karur, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Nagercoil, Salem, Sivakasi, Tambaram, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Tiruppur, Thanjavur, Thoothukudi and Vellore.
DMK has won 153 of the total 200 wards in Chennai, followed by the AIADMK in 15 wards, Congress in 13, BJP in one, CPI in one, and CPI(M) in four. TTV Dhinakaran-led AMMK and Indian Union Muslim League have bagged one ward each. MDMK has won two wards, and VCK four. Five independent candidates have also won. In 2011, the AIADMK won 168 councillors while the DMK alliance won 30.
According to reports, 5,794 polling booths were set up in Chennai across 15 zones in the city, and the lowest turnout of 43.59% voters were registered in GCC, of all the 21 corporations that went to polls. In Chennai, the counting of votes took place at one centre in each of the 15 zones.
The nomination process for the polls began on January 28 and filing ended on February 4, and the election took place in a single phase on February 19, from 7 am till 6 pm. The newly elected ward members/councillors will take oath on March 2 and the indirect polls for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor in corporations, and chairman and vice-chairman in municipalities and town panchayats, are scheduled to be held on March 4.
It is to be noted that the office of Mayor of Chennai and Tambaram (Chengalpattu district) corporations have been reserved for Scheduled Caste women.