In driver’s seat in upcoming TN civic polls, DMK braces for bumpy ride in several belts

The polls will involve a slew of major municipal corporations including Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Nagercoil, Kancheepuram, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Vellore, Sivakasi and Thanjavur across the state.

The local body polls have traditionally favoured the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, and there are barely any signs that this trend might be bucked this time. The DMK, however, appears to be bracing to face stiff challenges in a number of cities, such as Nagercoil, Coimbatore and Salem, even as its entire dispensation, including the ministers, have been campaigning for the DMK candidates across the state.

The polls in Nagercoil, a BJP stronghold, in southern Tamil Nadu could especially be tricky for the DMK, the party feels, as it will face a three-cornered tough fight involving the AIADMK and the BJP here. “AIADMK is weak, they do not have a strong party machinery here. But BJP has been traditionally stronger here. That makes it tough for us, although we hope we will win,” said a senior DMK leader campaigning in Nagercoil and other southern belts.

The ruling party is also anticipating a keen contest in the Kongu Nadu region in western Tamil Nadu. When asked whether they were facing a tough battle in western parts, especially in Coimbatore, Tirupur and Salem, a DMK minister said, “It could not be called tough but a strong competition. It is not like Nagercoil, but these three corporations will see strong contests. We are definitely going to make it but there is a challenge.”

Senior DMK leaders, who had been campaigning in western Tamil Nadu for the past three months, also say Coimbatore, Tirupur and Salem corporation polls would be “highly competitive” as they have higher stakes for both the AIADMK and the BJP. Salem is home turf of former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, while AIADMK veteran S P Velumani, who was dubbed “CM of Coimbatore” during the previous AIADMK government, is from Coimbatore city.

While the DMK leadership hopes to scalp more than 70 per cent of the seats involved in the upcoming civic polls, the BJP hopes to make a mark in the polls by winning some of their strongholds including Nagercoil. The AIADMK leaders are not hazarding any such guesses.

“Isn’t it natural that DMK will make maximum use of their being in power to win maximum seats. As a party, we are fighting with DMK, and we also see these polls as an opportunity for reviving our political campaign at the grassroots level,” said a senior AIADMK leader, who has been actively engaged in northern districts.

Since its Assembly polls debacle last year, the AIADMK has lost its two key allies — S Ramadoss’s Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which has a significant base among the OBC voters in northern and western parts of Tamil Nadu, and the BJP. The party also suffered a split with the ouster of late J Jayalalithaa’s close aide V K Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran.

Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) has put up candidates in a few places, but he is not campaigning for the party candidates himself. Sasikala has also confined herself to her T Nagar residence in Chennai. “There is support and guidance from the top for all AMMK candidates,” said a source close to Dhinakaran. On Dhinakaran’s absence from campaigning, the source said, “Maybe because our winning chances are less.”

When asked about Sasikala’s role in this election, the AMMK leader said, “We have no clue,” even as he admitted that the AMMK’s rebel movement and Sasikala’s clout have ebbed away faster than they had expected as there had not been any significant political move from the latter after her release from prison in early 2021. “We all rallied behind Dhinakaran hoping for her return from prison. But it wasn’t the one we expected. It’s now also a (political) career crisis for many who stood with Dhinakaran,” the leader said.

Palaniswami has been at the forefront of the AIADMK leaders campaigning for the civic body polls. While the DMK-led government has booked at least half a dozen ex-AIADMK ministers in connection with various corruption charges, an undaunted Palaniswami has continued with his attacks on the DMK and Chief Minister M K Stalin.

Palaniswami has now even taken up the gauntlet thrown by Stalin. Responding to the CM’s challenge for a public debate on the NEET issue, Palaniswami said he was ready for it along with his AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam. “Let the debate be held at a common place…Let us debate whose regime had planted this poisonous seed (NEET). Let the people pass the judgment,” he said, seeking to remind the DMK supremo that he has still not fulfilled his poll pledge that his first action after becoming the CM will be to scrap the NEET in Tamil Nadu.