Tamil Nadu Urban local body elections 2022: Everything you need to know

Back in 2011, the AIADMK had won a majority in both the rural and urban local body polls. Though the tenure of the officials ended in 2016, the elections for local bodies didn’t happen due to several legal issues. Different parties had filed cases over a variety of concerns, including law and order problems, inadequate reservation for Scheduled Tribes, and allegation that the polls were announced in a hurried manner without giving enough time for Opposition parties to make preparations.

The election to the rural local body was held after eight years in 2019. For nine newly created districts, the polls took place in two phases in October 2021.

On January 28 this year, the Madras High Court have its nod to the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC) to conduct the urban local body polls. It rejected a plea seeking to restrain the TNSEC from notifying the date for holding elections due to the third wave of Covid-19. The bench of justices said the state government and the TNSEC can go ahead with the polls in adherence with Covid protocols and guidelines issued by the central government. The High Court also said it would closely monitor the conduct of the elections.

Tamil Nadu Urban Local Body 2022 Polls: TN Urban Local Body Elections 2022, BJP, AIADMK, Congress Updates

The ruling DMK and its allies, which registered a thumping victory in the rural local body polls to nine districts last year, are looking to exhibit a similar performance in the upcoming polls. DMK’s allies include the Congress, VCK, CPI, CPI(M) and MDMK.

Despite a difference in opinions between the alliance partners over allocation of seats, the DMK-led secular progressive alliance, which also emerged victorious in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2021 Assembly polls, will contest together.

On the other hand, the Opposition AIADMK, which has been contesting elections in the state in alliance with the BJP as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) since 2019, has broken its partnership this time.

BJP president K Annamalai said their party would go it alone, as it wants to strengthen its reach at the ground level and take BJP to every household. However, he said the AIADMK would continue to be part of the NDA and would face the 2024 Lok Sabha polls together.

Similarly, veteran politician S Ramadoss’ PMK, which joined hands with AIADMK for the state Assembly polls, will contest alone. It had contested the 2021 rural local body polls alone as well.

The Captain Vijayakant led-DMDK, which contested the 2021 Assembly polls in alliance with TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK, will contest alone this time.

Other players including actor Kamal Haasan’s MNM and Seeman’s NTK have also decided to go solo.

When is voting, and when will the results be declared?

The nomination process for the polls began on January 28, and the candidates can file their papers till February 4. The scrutiny of the forms will happen on February 5, and the last date of withdrawal is on February 7. The election is set to take place in a single phase on February 19, from 7 am till 6 pm. Voters with Covid-19 or those who experience any symptoms can exercise their franchise in the last one hour of polling. The counting of votes will take place on February 22, and the results are expected to be declared on the same day. The polling process will be completed by February 24, and the newly elected ward members/councillors will take oath on March 2.

Indirect polls on March 4

The SEC will hold indirect polls for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor in corporations, and chairman and vice-chairman in municipalities and town panchayats on March 4. As many as 31,029 polling booths are set up across the state. This includes 5,794 in Chennai alone, across 15 zones in the city. Polling in all sensitive areas will be monitored through CCTVs.

The list of corporations and the reservation

There are a total of 21 corporations in Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Dindigul, Erode, Nagercoil, Kancheepuram, Karur, Hosur, Madurai, Salem, Kumbakonam, Avadi, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Tiruppur, Thoothukudi, Vellore, Sivakasi, Thanjavur, Tambaram.

Among them, the office of Mayor of Chennai and Tambaram (Chengalpattu district) corporations have been reserved for Scheduled Caste women, while Avadi (Tiruvallur district) corporation has been reserved for Scheduled Caste (general).

The Mayor posts in nine other corporations – Cuddalore, Dindigul, Vellore, Karur, Sivakasi, Kancheepuram, Madurai, Coimbatore and Erode — have been reserved for women (general).

The state government has also reserved the post of chairperson in 79 municipalities across the state for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe. This includes 10 municipalities to SC (general), 10 municipalities to SC (women) and 58 others to women (general). Nalliyam municipality in the Nilgiris district has been reserved for ST (women).

Over 80, 000 police personnel to be deployed for elections

As many as 80,000 police personnel will be deployed in a bid to ensure smooth conduct of polls and avoid any untoward incidents. As many as 1.3 lakh officers (four officers per booth) will be engaged in election duty.

The role of Chennai Corporation

The Chennai Corporation has been making efforts to conduct the polls smoothly. At least 45 flying squads have been deployed by the civic body to maintain surveillance and enforce the Model Code of Conduct. Intense checks across the city are being done to stop vehicles carrying huge amounts of cash or expensive items without appropriate documents or bills.

No bills on walls; no expenditure above Rs 90,000

Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi, while addressing reporters, announced a set of restrictions that candidates need to follow ahead of the polls. Bedi said as per the TNSEC norms, a candidate contesting as a ward member in Chennai can spend up to only Rs 90,000.

The parties/individual candidates should not paste campaign posters on private or public walls. The parties have been directed to inform their candidates not to behave in any manner that may create unrest among people of different caste, religion, or linguistic groups.

The candidates are allowed to campaign from 6 am to 10 pm, and they must not indulge in any campaigning near places of worship. They are also informed to adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines issued by the government.

(With PTI inputs)