The Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) will face the urban local bodies’(ULB)elections on its own, according to T.T.V. Dhinakaran, the party’s general secretary.
After chairing a meeting at his party office in Chennai on Thursday, Mr Dhinakaran saidthe secretaries of his party’s district units and senior office bearers hadfinalisedcandidates for all the wards of the ULBs that would go to pollsand furnished the details to him.
Questioning the rationale behind the timing of the elections, the AMMK leader felt the polls could have been held in March and the State government could have explainedthe situation on account of the prevailing third wave of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
When pointed out that elections to five State Assemblies could be held in February, he responded those elections were being planned in a phased manner whereas the ULBs in Tamil Nadu would face the election at one go.
According to him, the controversy over the distribution of Pongal gift hampers through the public distribution system would get reflected in the outcome of the polls.
Meanwhile,R.M. Babu Murugavel,the AIADMK’slegal wing joint secretary,urged the State Election Commissionto postthosegovernment officials,who werenowserving inrural areasand who had exercised their franchise in rural local bodies’ elections,to be posted aspollofficers so that those working in urban areas could cast their votesfreely. This would, he stated in a communication to the State Election Commissioner V Palanikumar,avoid the issues that ordinarily arose otherwise.
