Thread by @Firebird1506

Phase 1 covers 156 Panchayat unions and Phase 2 covers 158 Panchayat unions across 27 districts in Tamil Nadu.

Election Date Announcement-09.12.2019
Last Date for Filling Nomination-16.12.2019
Scrutiny-17.12.2019
Withdrawal Last Date-19.12.2019

Voting - Phase 1 Date-27.12.2019
Voting - Phase 2 Date-30.12.2019
Results -Date02.01.2020

DMK establishes clear leads in rural local body elections

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and its alliance partners Saturday established clear leads in the rural body elections in Tamil Nadu, held after a gap of eight years. In the polls held in 27 districts of the state,

the ruling AIADMK and its allies were relegated to the second spot.

DMK-led alliance emerges victorious in Tamil Nadu local body polls

As per latest reports, out of the 5,090 panchayat union wards, the opposition parties won 2,316 seats (DMK – 2091, Congress – 131,

CPI – 62, CPI(M) – 33) and the ruling alliance managed to secure 2,167 seats (AIADMK- 1762, PMK -224, DMDK – 97, BJP – 84). Other smaller parties secured 796 seats. Of the panchayat union wards, DMK garnered 41.10 per cent of the vote share while the AIADMK secured 34.64 %

Of the 515 district panchayat wards, the opposition parties won 267 seats (DMK – 243, Congress – 15, CPI – 7, CPI(M) -2) while the AIADMK alliance bagged 240 seats (AIADMK – 214, PMK – 16, BJP – 7. DMDK – 3). In district panchayat wards,

DMK secured 47.18 per cent of votes while the AIADMK secured 41.55 per cent of votes.

District panchayat wards
DMK and AIADMK won 13 districts apiece in the elections held for the post of district ward panchayat members. In Ariyalur, Karur, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Thoothukudi, Theni, Namakkal, Cuddalore, Salem, Dharmapuri, Erode,

Virudhunagar and Kanniyakumari districts AIADMK-led alliance managed to secure victory.

Similarly, DMK extended its dominance in Tiruvallur, Krishnagiri, Thanjavur, Dindigul, Tiruchirapalli, Thiruvannamalai, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Neelagiri, Perambalur, Pudukottai,

Ramanathapuram, and Madurai.

Both parties won equal number of seats in the Sivagangai district. The ward members will elect the district panchayat chairman on January 11. The ruling party’s loss in southern districts which were extensively campaigned

by the AIADMK ministers like RB Udhayakumar, Sellur K Raju, Dindigul C Srinivasan, and Kadambur C Raju raised many eyebrows.

Panchayat Unions
In Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruvannamalai, Pudukottai, Nagapattinam and Dindigul districts, the DMK won more than 100 seats.

But the AIADMK passed the 100-seat mark only in the Cuddalore district.

In Erode Nammakal, Thoothukudi and Salem the ruling government managed to defeat DMK by a small margin. Apart from the Dravidian parties,

TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK which wasn’t considered a threat sprung a surprise by winning 95 panchayat union seats. In Kayatharu town in Thoothukudi district, out 16 panchayat ward unions they managed to win 13. Similarly in Kannangudi town in Sivagangai district,

they won in five panchayat ward unions out of six. Apart from these districts, AMMK seized momentum in Thanjavur, Madurai, Tiruvannamalai, Pudukottai, Theni, and Cuddalore districts. Political analysts believe that these

small players could play a significant role in the 2021 assembly elections.

Stalin says DMK’s win a ‘thumping victory’
DMK chief M K Stalin called the election results a thumping victory for DMK despite the partisan attitude of the Election Commission and AIADMK’s money power.

“People’s power can overcome any anarchy and unscrupulous activities. The results have brought to light the people’s faith in DMK and their dissatisfaction over the AIADMK government. The elected local representatives will serve the people better and honest.

The local body elections should have been held in 2016, but the ruling party was afraid to meet the people and hence kept postponing it. It’s only after an order from the Supreme Court and High Court, the EC agreed to conduct elections,” Stalin said.

DMK moves High Court over the counting process
The rural local body elections for 91,975 posts were held in two phases on December 27 and 30 in 315 centres across the state. Over 2.31 lakh candidates contested for the posts which include district ward panchayat members,

panchayat union ward members, village panchayat presidents and village panchayat ward members. According to the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission, the first phase witnessed a voter turnout of 77.10 per cent, while the second phase saw 77.73 per cent votes polled.

Totally, 77.46 per cent voter turnout was witnessed in the rural body election.

The counting process began on Thursday at 8 am amidst tight security. According to EC, more than 1 lakh officers were appointed in the counting centres

and close to 30,000 police personnel were deployed across the 27 districts. A large number of CCTV cameras were set up in each counting centres.

During counting, DMK leader MK Stalin approached Election Commissioner R Palanisamy alleging irregularities in the process.

He claimed AIADMK, with the help of officials, were refusing to declare results, particularly in the constituencies of the CM and deputy CM.

The EC quashed the allegation, saying it was working round the clock to ensure a fair election. However, Stalin approached the

EC again at midnight and sought justice. He threatened to sit on a fast at the EC’s office if appropriate action was no taken.

Meanwhile, DMK approached the Madras High Court alleging irregularities and unusual delay in declaring winners.