AIADMK sweeps panchayat chief polls

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

CHENNAI, OCT. 31.The AIADMK-led front, with some support from independents, swept the election of chairpersons of district panchayat councils and panchayat unions.

The election of deputy mayors of the six corporations, however, witnessed a close fight between the AIADMK and the DMK. While the AIADMK won in Chennai and Salem, its ally, TMC, bagged Coimbatore. The DMK candidates emerged victorious as deputy mayors in Madurai, Tirunelveli and Tiruchi.

The closest fight was in Madurai where volunteers of the AIADMK and the DMK came to blows in the counting hall. As there was a dispute over two votes, counting was stopped. The DMK wanted the votes declared invalid, but the AIADMK demanded that they be credited to its nominee. The issue was referred to the State Election Commission, which ordered resumption of the counting process and declared the DMK candidate victor.

The returning officer in Madurai, the Corporation Commissioner, Mr. Har Sahay Meena, fled the counting hall in the face of mob violence. As volunteers of both parties stormed the hall, the police resorted to force to restore order.

In Tiruchi, two BJP members abstained from voting in defiance of the party directive to back the DMK. The DMK candidate still won deputy mayorship.

In Coimbatore, where the AIADMK allotted the deputy mayor post to the TMC late last night, the nominee won by a huge margin with the support of the Congress and independents. The MDMK, true to its prior announcement, remained neutral.

In Chennai, the voting was on expected lines with the AIADMK winning the vote of the CPI(M) member. The Congress, opposed to the nomination of the AIADMK member, Mr. Karate Thyagarajan, invalidated its vote, it is believed.

Ideological differences were drowned in local rivalries in the fight for several posts. Both the BJP and the Congress suffered from the cross-voting syndrome. Pattukottai witnessed switching of loyalties by members of different parties enabling the MDMK candidate, a rank outsider, to win vice- chairmanship of the municipality.

The AIADMK, riding on the strength of independents, won a majority of the 29 district panchayat councils. In Kanyakumari, however, the DMK front nominee emerged victor.

Most of the panchayat unions also went the way of the AIADMK front, thanks to independents, in many places. In some places, the Congress backed the BJP-inclusive DMK front.

Elections in some of the panchayat unions had to be put off for lack of quorum. The major parties deliberately forced a lack of quorum to buy time to reach an understanding with allies.

In Padmanabhapuram, Kanyakumari district, the BJP councillors used their own pen to mark their choice. As the votes were declared invalid, the AIADMK candidate was declared winner of the municipality vice-chairmanship; the BJP members protested.

In another interesting case, the TMC candidate in the Paramakudi panchayat union inadvertently voted for the rival DMK nominee. On realising his mistake, the TMC candidate tore up the ballot paper and sought a fresh one. However, the returning officer did not accede to the request. In the counting, the two candidates were locked in a tie. In a draw of lots that followed, the DMK candidate was declared winner. There were ties in a few other places too, bringing the draw of lots into play.

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