The ruling DMK made a clean sweep in the indirect elections to rural local bodies in Villupuram and Kallakurichi districts on Friday. Besides winning the chairman’s post of the District Panchayat Council, the party also bagged the chairperson post in all 13 panchayat unions.
With a comfortable majority of 26 wards councillors in the 28-member council, DMK candidate Jayachandiran was declared elected unopposed as chairman. The Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s (VCK), Sheela Devi Cheran, was elected unopposed as vice-chairperson.
The DMK secured the lion’s share of seats in the panchayat unions, winning 197 out of 293 seats, helping it to win the chairperson posts in all 12 panchayat unions. Election at one panchayat union — Marakkanam — was deferred as required number of panchayat union ward members did not turn up for voting.
The following were elected chairpersons of panchayat unions in the district: Yogeshwari - Mailam; Usha - Vanur; Vijayakumar - Gingee; Satchinandam - Koliyanur; Dhanalakshmi - Mugaiyur; Sangeetharasi - Vikravandi; Kalaiselvi - Kaanai; Amutha - Vallam; Chokkalingam - Olakkur; Om Sivasakthi Vel - Tiruvennainallur; Vasan - Kandamangalam; Kannan - Melamalaiyanur.
District chairman post
The DMK also won the district chairman’s post of Kallakurichi district panchayat with Bhuvaneswari Perumal being elected unopposed. The party also won the chairperson post in nine panchayat unions in the district.