The outcome of the February 19 urban civic polls in Tamil Nadu, held after a gap of over 10 years, delivered several messages. The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) not only retained its supremacy over its main adversary, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), but also consolidated its position. Its allies including the Congress, Left, and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi too were able to reap rich dividends. As a senior AIADMK office bearer put it, an important feature of the outcome was the manner in which the DMK and its allies demolished what was regarded as an impregnable fortress of the AIADMK — the western belt, from Namakkal to Coimbatore.
For the AIADMK, there was no relief from the lean patch it has been facing since the 2019 general election results. The results show the gap between the DMK and the AIADMK. Being the dominant constituent in its alliance, the DMK bagged 7,698 wards out of the 10,758 it contested in municipal corporations, municipalities and town panchayats with a vote share of 43.13%. The AIADMK, which fielded nominees in 11,538 wards, secured only 2,008. Its vote share was 25.15%.
While the two Dravidian majors cornered a majority of the vote share retaining the bipolar nature of the polity in T.N., what is significant is that there are signs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) becoming an important force in the State. The BJP, which faced all the major polls as a junior partner of the AIADMK in 2019 and 2021, was forced to go it alone following the breakdown in seat-sharing talks with the Dravidian major in late January. It secured 308 wards out of the 5,594 wards it contested with a vote share of 5.41%.
