Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) general secretary and the party’s floor leader in the Assembly, Sinthanai Selvan, on Monday said the party will be patient with the DMK for a few more days on the issue of the senior alliance partner breaching the agreement with the junior allies during the indirect elections for top posts in certain urban local bodies.
This approach comes after DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin urged his party members, who did not respect the pre-poll agreement with alliance partners, to resign from their top posts in those local bodies.
The VCK, whose nominees were elected to only eight of the 16 top posts in urban local bodies allotted to it by the DMK, would seek to resolve these issues amicably, but believed that a permanent solution would be to change the form of elections for the posts of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Chairpersons of local bodies from indirect elections to direct election. Mr. Selvan told The Hindu.
“We are very happy with Mr. Stalin’s statement asking his partymen to resign from the posts, respecting the alliance partners. We will wait for a few more days and see. We want to resolve this amicably,” said Mr. Selvan.
He added that the VCK would push for a change in the indirect mode of elections to various posts of the local bodies. “The indirect elections have led to these issues. Political parties find it difficult to control local leadership, who sometimes can act independently against the wishes of the leadership of the party. This needs to change,” he said.
VCK’s Cuddalore South district secretary, Mullaivendan, claimed that a local leader of the DMK, Radhakrishnan, ensured his wife was elected as the Nellikuppam Town Panchayat Chairperson , a post reserved for women (general) and allotted to VCK by the DMK.
“Four seats (Wards 15, 20, 26 and 27) were allotted to VCK within the Town Panchayat. We won two. Out of the two wards lost by VCK (wards 20 and 27), the DMK leadership ensured that the DMK cadres extended no support during the campaign since my sister contested in one of the wards. They thought if my sister is defeated, I would not claim the post for VCK,” he said. “However, when we wanted to ensure that VCK is given the post as agreed, we were told by Mr. Radhakrishnan that it would not be possible and he ensured that all the elected members were taken away to Puducherry,” he said.
Mr. Mullaivendan said the VCK party leadership has asked him to wait and watch for the next few days and hoped that the DMK would eventually deliver on its promise.
