VILLUPURAM: For the first time in it's 103 years of existence, Villupuram municipality is now home to two women ward members from an Ambedkarite political party. The victory of VCK may reflect on the municipality's sensitive governance, focusing on marginalised communities' welfare.
S Merina and P Vidhyashankari contested in wards 16 and 32 respectively and won with a margin over 300 seats each. While Merina contested on the DMK's sunrise logo, Vidhyashankari was fielded by the coconut tree logo assigned to the party by the State Election Commission.
"It is a moment of overwhelming emotion and gratitude. Political power is all that matters to make a positive change in our society and I look forward to delivering my service in the path of Dr BR Ambedkar," explained Vidyashankari, who won in Vazhudhareddy colony, a reserved ward.
For the past 50 years, the district had been a strong fortress for the DMK and AIADMK, as senior leaders of both the parties hail from the region. The VCK had been in the fray for the last two decades and had won one ward councillor in Tindivanam municipality in 2006. Ever since, the local body polls have not been held in the district.
However, the parliamentary elections held in 2019 gave way to a massive victory for VCK's general secretary D Ravikumar. He was elected as an MP for Villupuram constituency. The party's ideology of breaking caste and other social hierarchies, as envisioned by Dr BR Ambedkar, did not restrict its reach only to the scheduled communities but people from all facets, including youngsters.
Villupuram MP and VCK's general secretary D Ravikumar told TNIE, "It is remarkable that the party was able to win the seats in both municipality and town panchayat levels in this election. The capacity of VCK to ideologically attract its voters increased over the years. It is not just one particular community's vote that gave us the victory, it is the collective trust of everybody, as they relate to the ideals of social justice. We see this as a positive beginning."