VELLORE: With a thumping majority in the civic polls, the DMK is all set to choose a candidate for the mayoral post of the Vellore City Municipal Corporation (VCMC). This is only the second election that the Corporation has faced. The mayoral post has been marked for the General women category and this time, the election is indirect.
Out of 60 wards, DMK captured 44 wards. It appears that three names are mainly doing the rounds within the party. There is a tough fight up ahead for the post, given the candidates' reputation within the party and among the public.
A party favourite who may enter the race is P Sivasankari, who won the councillor post from ward no.9. She garnered 1,553 votes and won by a 1,171 vote difference (69.21 per cent), defeating candidates from BJP and AIADMK. Her father Ramalingam is a senior party cadre and former Vellore town secretary. Her husband, N Parasivam, was the chairman of Gandhi Nagar town panchayat in 2006. Parasivam is reportedly a staunch supporter of Water Resources Minister and DMK General Secretary Durai Murugan, sources said.
A Sujatha who secured ward no. 31 seems another likely contestant for the mayor post. She bagged 3083 votes, almost 50.47 per cent of votes polled in the ward. The candidate won the poll by 1,366 vote difference. She is currently the secretary of DMK women's wing in Vellore corporation.
Another contestant is V Pushpalatha who won unopposed from ward no. 7. She was the municipal chairman of Tharapavedu municipality in 2006. Her husband K Vanniyaraja is the current town secretary of the same municipality as his wife.
Speculations abound that Vimala, who secured ward no.2, and D Thavamani from ward no. 44 are also in the race.
It may be noted that Vellore was upgraded to Corporation in 2008 and P Karthikeyan, THE current Vellore MLA, became the mayor that year. After delimitation exercises, the Corporation, with 60 wards, went to polls for the first time in 2011. The then AIADMK candidate P Karthiyayini, now a BJP office-bearer, became the mayor in direct elections.