CHENNAI: After scripting victory in the recent Assembly election, the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has turned its attention on the local body elections to strengthen its grassroots presence across the state.
A highly-placed source in TVK said the party high command, last week, directed the ministers and district-level leaders to consolidate support in their respective constituencies and prepare the ground for a crucial test.
Ministers have already hit the campaign trail, seeking the support of the people for the local body polls. In their address, two ministers told the electorate that without taking control of local bodies from the opposition, fulfilling poll promises would remain an uphill task.
“Only if you blow the whistle again in the local body elections can the desired change be brought,” Industries Minister S Keerthana said, addressing gatherings in her constituency.
Human Resources Development Minister D Sarathkumar, while addressing residents in Tambaram corporation, also echoed similar views. Sarathkumar even noted he found it difficult to resolve people’s grievances due to “the political hindrance posed by DMK councillors who continue to dominate the urban local body”.
A minister and senior TVK leader told the TNIE, “We thought Assembly bypolls would precede civic body elections. But now, it is up to the court to decide as there are cases pending before it in this regard. That’s why the leadership asked us to start the work for local body polls,” he said.
Even before formally floating the TVK in February 2024, the party’s predecessor, Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VMI) had tested its electoral strength in local body polls. In the rural local body elections held in the nine newly created districts in October 2021, 169 VMI candidates contested as independents, and 129 people emerged victorious.
Senior party functionaries said the high command’s instructions to ministers are part of a broader strategy to hit the ground and identify key issues that need immediate attention once TVK gains majority control in rural and urban local bodies.
In the nine reorganised districts – Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi – rural local body elections were delayed by the district-restructuring process and finally held in October 2021; those panchayats, elected for a five-year term, are due to complete their tenure by October 2026.
In the remaining 28 districts, the term of elected panchayat representatives expired on January 5, 2025, after which the state government appointed special officers to run 9,624 village panchayats, 314 panchayat unions and 28 district panchayats.
Their tenure has since been extended twice by amendments to the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, first to January 5, 2026, then to July 5, 2026. Urban local bodies are scheduled to complete their term in early 2027.
