If the local body polls, as ordered by the Madras High Court, take place by the middle of May, they will be the first political acid test for the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which owes allegiance to jailed leader V.K. Sasikala.
They will, in fact, present an opportunity for people all over the State to express their faith or otherwise in the government headed by Edappadi K. Palaniswami. It would also be a testing ground for the real popularity of the rebel AIADMK camp headed by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.
Conscious of the challenges that the AIADMK will have to face at the time of the forthcoming elections, party spokesperson Vaigaichelvan contends that the government is after all “that of Amma [former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa]” and it has several “dream projects” to pursue. “We will go to people, seeking their support, so that all our plans can be translated into action,” he says.
In the four elections for the local bodies (1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011), it was the party in power at the time of the polls that was favoured in a majority or most of the local bodies, urban or rural. [Except in the case of village panchayats, elections to all other local bodies are held on party lines].
K.S. Radhakrishnan, spokesperson of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), says the forthcoming elections will mark “the beginning of the change that the people are longing for.” “Definitely, our party will reap the maximum benefits, given the present level of popular mood,” he adds.
As for the pattern of voting that was witnessed by the State between 1996 and 2011, Mr. Radhakrishnan says the electorate had behaved differently also. To substantiate his point, he recalls that the DMK-led front trumped the AIADMK-Congress combine in the local body polls in February 1986 [especially for municipalities] when the AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran was the Chief Minister.
Perumal Mani, political observer, feels that it has become imperative for the AIADMK to implement the concept of “collective leadership,” which, he hopes, will enable the party to fare well in the elections.
