AIADMK alleges ruling party unleashed POLL violence

Chennai: The ruling DMK maintained its winning streak in the two-phase local body elections in the nine newly created districts in Tamil Nadu trouncing the AIADMK, which had earlier suffered defeat in the April 6 Assembly election.

DMK president and Chief Minister M K Stalin, who piloted his party to an impressive victory yet again, said the poll results were an endorsement of the DMK's first five months in office, even as the opposition AIADMK alleged that its arch rival had "unleashed unprecedented violence" in the civic polls and won "through backdoor."

The DMK, which established a clear lead during the counting of votes on Tuesday, was comfortably placed as results were in its favour throughout the day. The party won a majority of seats. Polling was held in 39 unions on October 6 while the remaining 35 unions went to polls on October 9, in Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts. Elections were held to fill 27,003 posts including 140 district panchayat ward members, 74 panchayat unions, 1,381 panchayat union ward members, 2,901 village panchayat presidents and 22,581 village panchayat ward councillors.

"The overwhelming victory for the DMK candidates in the civic polls, is an endorsement of the DMK government's achievements and governance in the last five months," Stalin said, reacting to his party's spectacular victory.

"This is a recognition given by the people to the DMK's achievements and governance. People have voted for the party as they believed that the DMK government would keep up its poll assurances," Stalin said in a statement here on Wednesday.

His government achieved in five months time what would have been done in five years of rule, by implementing over 200 poll promises in a short period, he said. "And all these was done in spite of the pandemic and a financial crisis gripping the State," he added. The party chief called upon the newly elected members to strive hard "to sustain the confidence the people have reposed in the DMK."

"The goodwill has increased in the last five months,"" he said and thanked his Cabinet colleagues, party leaders and all those who strived for the victory.

Meanwhile, the Opposition AIADMK alleged that the DMK unleashed unprecedented violence and atrocities in the civic body elections and claimed that the poll body did not act upon the party's election petitions.

In a joint statement, AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam and Co-coordinator K Palaniswami, said their party had been protesting against the way in which the elections were held from the beginning and the AIADMK had even moved the court.

"Though the TN State Election Commission is an autonomous body, the DMK unleashed unprecedented violence and atrocities during the elections and reduced the stature of the poll body to a puppet," the leaders alleged.

When it was in power, the AIADMK conducted elections in a single phase for Assembly, Lok Sabha and rural local bodies, they said.

The leaders thanked the party members for their efforts during the elections and insisted that "our vote has never been for the DMK."

PMK founder S Ramadoss claimed that the local body election results have proved that his party is the third major political force in Tamil Nadu after the ruling DMK and the AIADMK which had ruled the State. "Our victory is honourable and respectable," he said. (PTI)