CHENNAI: Cadres and functionaries of the DMK women’s wing are especially excited to face the upcoming local body elections in the State. The reason, it is learnt, is women’s wing secretary Kanimozhi’s advice to party district secretaries to give tickets for members of the wing to contest in the polls.
Generally, tickets for seats reserved for women in local body polls are given to the wife, sister or daughter of a party’s local strongman or a man who had held the seat before it was reserved. As a result, women’s wing functionaries, even if active in the locality, were not given opportunities to enter the electoral fray. Kanimozhi, daughter of late party patriarch M Karunanidhi and Lok Sabha MP from Thoothukudi, is learnt to have spoken to several of the party’s local decision makers — the district secretaries — and urged them to consider giving tickets for seats reserved for women to members of the women’s wing.
“It’s our leader Karunanidhi who implemented 33 per cent reservation for women (in local bodies). Following in his footsteps, Kanimozhi has recommended that tickets be given,” DMK women’s wing patron Vijaya Thayanban told Express.
A party member privy to the development said at least some of the district secretaries had taken Kanimozhi’s words to heart. “Some of them have started identifying potential candidates from the women’s wing,” said the party member.
Insiders say this is the first time the women’s wing is making its voice heard in ticket allocation for the polls. “Usually, the youth wing gets a good share of tickets. The women’s wing is only demanding tickets in seats reserved for women. So the demand is just,” noted a panchayat union-level party functionary.