A bitter fight

THE OUTCOME AND voting pattern of the panchayat and municipal elections in Tamil Nadu this time, unlike in 1996, are not in full concordance with what the Assembly polls threw up less than six months ago. The ruling AIADMK, which came back to power with a resounding mandate, could not repeat its earlier performance, although overall, in aggregated numerical terms, the party may be said to have given a good account of itself. The realignment of political forces post-Assembly elections which saw the AIADMK-led front getting depleted, with the exit of the PMK, the Congress and the CPI(M) and, secondly, the uncertain future of its ally, the Tamil Maanila Congress, which became rudderless following the death of G. K. Moopanar would primafacie appear to have worked to the ruling party's disadvantage. The widely perceived rural-urban divide in popular support as between the AIADMK and the DMK stands somewhat blunted, with the two camps making significant inroads into each other's traditional strongholds. Striking indeed is the AIADMK's capture of three of the six municipal corporations, namely Coimbatore, Salem and Tirunelveli; its ally, the TMC, has retained the mayorship of Tiruchi.

For its part, the DMK seems to have substantially improved on its showing in the Assembly elections, thanks to its changed tactic of roping in the PMK and jettisoning the caste-centric minor organisations. The DMK and its allies, the BJP and the PMK, have together gained control of around 40 per cent of the 100-odd municipalities, which is marginally less than the AIADMK-led front's score. Their tally for the town panchayat chairmanships accounts for a little over one-fourth, as against the main rival camp's 40 per cent share. The fact that the DMK could save the Chennai mayoral seat for itself and incumbent, Mr. M. K. Stalin, in a bitterly-fought prestigious contest that was marred by accusations of brazen malpractices both at the polling and counting stages is by far its biggest `achievement', what with the AIADMK going all out to defeat him at any cost; in the event, Mr. Stalin could only scrape through with a slender 5000-odd vote margin in an election marked by an unconscionably low voter turnout. Predictably, the Congress and the Marumalarchi DMK, as also some others, have described their performances as `satisfactory', claiming credit for what they perceived to be positive aspects. The results of local body elections, despite their inherent limitations dictated by such factors as narrow focus of issues and localised stakes, do provide broad signals of popular mood. It is for the political players, particularly parties such as the TMC and the Congress which find themselves adrift and politically marginalised, to pick them up and re-order their strategies.

The political dimensions of the civic poll outcome apart, what is of grave concern is the scale of violence and malpractices, such as rigging and booth-capturing by goons, that was witnessed during the exercise, not to speak of the obnoxious practice of `auctioning' panchayat posts that surfaced in certain pockets. In a sense, it was yet another manifestation of the politics of personal vendetta and revenge that the AIADMK and the DMK have been playing in recent years. If this in itself makes a mockery of the democratic exercise and is reprehensible, one can well imagine the crippling impact it will have on the newly-elected panchayats, municipalities and city corporations, should such an acrimonious and vengeful attitude be imported into the functioning of these decentralised democratic units. As it happens, in many of the municipal councils, town panchayats and panchayat unions and a couple of city corporations, a majority of the members elected and the chairmen/mayors belong to opposing political camps - Chennai and Tiruchi are two such striking instances. If the well-conceived, Constitutionally-sanctioned system of self-governance is not to be sabotaged, those who get the mandate for holding posts at different levels should work concertedly for the common good, shedding the adversarial and retributive style of politics.

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