As it has done elsewhere in the State, the DMK romped home in the urban local bodies polls in Theni district, considered to be a bastion of the AIADMK, wherein stalwarts like late M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa had won and became Chief Ministers.
The DMK emerged victorious in all the six municipalities in the district, including Periyakulam, the hometown of former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, who himself had been the chairman of the municipality in the past.
The real shock for the AIADMK cadre came from Kuchanoor town panchayat, which falls under Bodinayakkanur Assembly Constituency, from where Mr. Panneerselvam was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2021. The DMK won in 11 out of the 12 wards, while an Independent emerged victorious in a ward.
The only consolation for the AIADMK was the victory of O. Shanmugasundaram, the younger brother of Mr. Panneerselvam, who contested in a ward in Periyakulam municipality.
In Theni, Cumbum, Bodi, Chinnamanur, Gudalur and Periakulam municipalities, the DMK won hands down, and the party cadre were celebrating it by bursting crackers and distributing sweets to the public.
