SALEM: Keen to reverse its performance in Assembly elections, the DMK has fielded a strong contingent to contest in the elections to Salem City Municipal Corporation (SCMC).
In 2021, DMK lost ten out of the 11 assembly segments in Salem, the home turf of AIADMK joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami. In 2011, AIADMK won in 51 wards out of 60 wards in SCMC. The DMK won in seven wards.
DMK chief and chief minister M K Stalin appointed senior leader and Municipal Administration K N Nehru as Minister-in-charge for Salem and has also been visiting the district regularly. Cadres started the groundwork for elections two months ago. The DMK central district secretary and MLA R Rajendran MLA visited every ward in SCMC along with officials and heard the grievances of people.
The DMK is contesting in 48 out of 60 wards. Sources said winning SCMC is a prestigious issue for them, and the high command has accommodated supporters of late Salem strongman Veerapandi S Arumugam, who allegedly have been sidelined, as contestants.
Among the candidates are C Panneerselvam (ward 2) who as contested for MLA seat in 2016, S Umarani (ward 15, who contested as MP in 2014, M Gunasekaran (ward 43) , who contested for MLA in 2016 and A S Saravanan (ward 56), who contested for MLA in 2021.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior DMK functionary said, "There is always one faction which supports Veerapandiyar (Veerapandi S Arumugam). Even now supporters of MLA Rajendran and Veerapandiyar operate separately. We thought the high command will give tickets only to Rajendran's supporters to contest in local body polls. But Veerapandiyar's supporters also got tickets. Out of 48 candidates, 10 are Veerapandiyar's supporters. The factions will put their differences behind and work for victory."
Rajendran said he does not differentiate between functionaries. "Our aim is growth of the party only. Based on that we have recommended candidates who have high chances of winning and party high command announced the candidates."