TENKASI: The AIADMK's chairman candidate emerged victorious in the indirect election to the Courtallam town panchayat on Wednesday. In the eight-member panchayat, both the DMK and AIADMK have four ward councillors each. While AIADMK's M Ganesh Damotharan secured five votes, DMK candidate Kumarpandian received only three votes as one of his party councillors cross-voted for Damotharan.
Suspecting that DMK councillor K Kokila had cross-voted in the election, the DMK district unit has initiated an unofficial inquiry into the incident. "Kokila, who actually belonged to the AIADMK, joined our party just a few months before the urban local body election," a senior DMK leader told TNIE.
Meanwhile, AIADMK's G Thangapandian was elected unopposed for the civic body's vice-chairman post on Wednesday afternoon. No nomination was filed against him. Except for Kokila, the other DMK councillors boycotted the vice-chairman election.
On Tuesday, AIADMK district secretaries Selva Mohandas Pandian and C Krishnamurali petitioned District Collector S Gopala Sundararaj seeking police protection to ensure a free and fair election the next day. Police personnel were deployed across the town during the polls to avoid any untoward incident.
43-year-old engineering graduate Damotharan, who won the chairman election, is also AIADMK's town secretary. As per his affidavit submitted to the State Election Commission, Damotharan's family owns assets worth a total of `2.32 crore, and no criminal case is pending against him, sources said. The indirect election had been postponed twice previously due to the lack of quorum as the DMK councillors skipped both sessions.