CHENNAI: The Madras High Court’s decision to stay the notification for the local body elections scheduled for October 17 and 19 has come as a shock for the candidates who were bracing for a tough fight. But as history shows, postponing local body polls is not something new to Tamil Nadu. In fact, the elections have been rescheduled 16 times previously for 17 different reasons.
Before the present state of suspended animation, the last instance was in 1995 when the leading parties – DMK and AIADMK – opposed the setting up of three-tier panchayat system as recommended by the 73rd Constitutional Bill. The staunch opposition notwithstanding, the State Election Commission (SEC) was established a year later. The SEC has conducted four local body elections so far, but none were free from controversies.
The biggest row was a decade ago, when the elections to Chennai Corporation were marred by violence and widespread allegations of rigging by the ruling DMK and its allies. The matter soon reached the Madras High Court and led to holding of re-election to a large number of seats. The DMK won with a comfortable majority in the re-poll as well, but the commission’s reputation took a hit.
Years down the line, the same court has called off an election scheduled by the SEC on charges of failing to create a “level playing field”.Smaller opposition parties such as the VCK and MDMK allege that the SEC in Tamil Nadu does not have the space to function independently, unlike in Kerala. “This has weakened the panchayat system,” they said.
According to Professor G Palanidhurai, who has authored several books on local body polls, Tamil Nadu has implemented the 73rd Constitutional Amendment only for the sake of compliance and not in full spirit.
Stressing the need for amending the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act, 1994, he said the SEC should have complete autonomy over delimitation of wards, allocation of symbols, security arrangements and finalising election schedules. For that to happen, it is important to integrate the State body with the Election Commission of India, with a separate budget for more effective functioning.
Both the aspirants and parties are in a fix over the continuing suspense regarding the postponement of polls. In 2001 polls, none of the wall paintings sported the symbols of parties in the coalition as the alliance talks were delayed till the last minute. Instead, the walls were splashed with eye-catching graffiti. Akin to this, in this year’s local body polls, parties tried to continue with their campaigns with no dates of polls in their public notices or posters. But after a Division Bench of the Madras High Court refused to stay the Single Judge’s order quashing the poll notification, the campaign has come to a grinding halt. For now, they all have to wait and watch.