TIRUCHY: With the DMK sweeping all the municipalities in the district, including Manapparai by garnering the support of independent candidates, all eyes are on who would be elected to the chairperson post in the civic bodies. Amidst the selection process, local party functionaries shared their views with The New Indian Express on which councillors are the front runners.
In the results for the urban local body elections announced on Tuesday, the DMK recorded a significant win in four municipalities in the district, while it secured Manapparai -- where the party and the AIADMK were tied at 11 wards each – with the support of independent candidates.
Of the five municipalities, the chairperson post for Thuraiyur is reserved for a Scheduled Caste woman, while in Musiri municipality it is reserved for a woman in the General category. The top post in the rest of the municipalities is reserved for the general category.
In Thuraiyur municipality, only two women candidates from the Scheduled Caste community who secured victory are in the fray: M Selvarani, who secured her third victory as ward councilllor and M Sumathi, who secured victory for the first time. Among the two, considering experience, Ward 17 councillor Selvarani is the favourite for the chairperson race.
In Manapparai municipality, a senior party functionary said, "A tough three-cornered battle prevails for the chairperson post in the municipality. Among them are two veterans: party town secretary Geetha A Michaelraj (Ward 25 councillor) and Mu Ma Selvam who secured his third consecutive victory as ward councillor. First timer P Nirmala (Ward 11 councillor) is also in the race for the Manapparai municipal chairperson post.”
In Thuvakudi municipality, local functionaries tipped one the party's veteran candidates, E Kayambu (Ward 12 councillor) as the favourite for the chairperson’s post. Notably, he was the civic body's former chairperson.
In Lalgudi municipality, party functionaries pointed to the rumours of first-time winner Duraimanickam (Ward 21 councillor) emerging a favourite for the chairperson post.
In Musiri municipality, party sources speculated the prospects being high for S Kalaiselvi (Ward 19 councillor), who is the wife of Musiri DMK town secretary Shivakumar.