CHENNAI: The announcement of the urban local body election by the state election commission has set the ball rolling in the political arena in Tamil Nadu. If not all political parties, at least the ruling DMK and the PMK, which recently distanced itself from the alliance led by the opposition party AIADMK, have started gearing up for the election.
Chief minister and DMK president M K Stalin while speaking at the wedding ceremony of the daughter of DMK Rajya Sabha MP T K S Elangovan in Chennai on Thursday said people must talk less and focus on actions. "That's what I am doing now," he said. Stalin said the state has reserved 50% of the seats in local bodies for women. He said women who enjoy equal rights and opportunities in the local body polls must get equal importance in personal affairs too.
Later in the evening, Stalin chaired a virtual meeting with the MPs, MLAs and district functionaries to discuss the strategies to face the urban local body polls successfully. A senior DMK district secretary said after the two hours online meeting, Stalin patiently listened to the views of all representatives. Senior DMK leader and minister S Duraimurugan, known for his wit and humour, said if the meeting was held at the party office, it would have concluded in an hour. But the virtual meeting went on for two hours, he said.
"Stalin patiently listened to the participants and advised them. He appealed to one and all to finalise good candidates. He directed all to visit every household and patiently listen to people’s problems," said a senior leader. Stalin insisted that the party representatives must not earn a bad name. "Listen to the grievances of the people. The DMK representatives and candidates must patiently listen to the problems of people and resolve the issues through government machinery. Remember, we have earned the goodwill of the people for the past eight months and people will definitely vote for us. We will win like we did in 2021 rural local body elections in the nine districts," Stalin said.
PMK did not lag behind. PMK founder leader S Ramadoss said the party will hold a virtual meet on Friday with the state office bearers and district secretaries to chalk out plans to re-establish the party's position in the state without the support of the two Dravidian majors.
