DMK general secretary and Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan in an interview to The Hindu on Sunday said the State government decided not to change the arrangement of indirect election to the post of Mayor and Chairperson of the urban local bodies as it would have led to a legal battle and delayed the elections further. He exuded confidence that not only the DMK candidates but also the candidates of its allies would sweep the elections. Excerpts:
As the DMK general secretary, how do you see the prospects of your alliance in the urban local bodies elections?
The prospects will be bright. We treat all candidates equally and do not adopt a different approach to the candidates of our allies. Our district secretaries and leaders at various levels have attached equal importance to them. They [the candidates of the allies] will also win.
There was a lot of resentment among the DMK’s allies during seat-allocation. Would this reflect in coordination on the ground?
It is common during elections. Even our partymen were upset at the non-allocation of seats. Such problems are faced by all parties. They may be unhappy but will involve themselves in the campaign.
Usually, top leaders of major parties do not campaign extensively for civic elections. But Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and AIADMK leaders Edappadi K. Palaniswami and O. Panneerselvam are campaigning daily this time. Why?
We accord equal importance to elections, be they to the Assembly or Parliament or local bodies. Do not think that the local bodies are small units as the name suggests.
A government can conceive schemes, but they can be effectively implemented only through the local bodies. All our schemes, goals, welfare programmes will be spoiled if the candidates of the Opposition party win the local bodies.
Today people may approach an MLA if there is a need to lay a road or supply drinking water to an area. If elections are held to the local bodies, people will go to the elected representatives to find a solution to local issues and this will strengthen the parties that have representatives in the local bodies. The parties that dominate the local bodies will also have a voice in the Assembly.
Local bodies elections are usually fought on local issues, but Mr, Stalin has been highlighting national issues and attacking the Prime Minister. Why this strategy?
Gone are the days when the ruling party and the Opposition accused each other at the State level. I have been saying that the standard of campaigns should go up. There is a need to highlight ideological and policy issues instead of focusing on local issues even during the local bodies elections to create political awareness. Our leader is focusing on issues concerning Tamil Nadu and issues that need to be highlighted at the national level to bring about a change in the outlook of people. You should also bear in mind that people voting in the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are also voting in the civic elections.
We are able to convey our policies to people, and voting in the local bodies elections indicates people’s mind.
In 1996, the DMK government conducted direct election to the post of Mayor before switching to indirect election in 2006. In 2011, the AIADMK government restored direct election and later preferred indirect election. Why did the government now go in for indirect election of Mayors and Chairpersons? There is a view that people do not have any idea of who is likely to be their Mayor...
We have decided to keep away from the method to ensure that no one takes advantage of it to obtain a stay on the elections in the court. Our tenure might be over by the time the matter is settled in the Supreme Court. We have not made even the slightest change in the seats reserved for women and others.
In Chennai, no prominent women candidate has been fielded by the DMK, though the post of Mayor is reserved for the SC (women). Why?
Prominence will emerge later. Importance will be judged only by the work of the elected candidates. An actor’s importance cannot be judged by the first film in which he/she is cast. If the film becomes a box-office hit, the actor will gain prominence.
