Delta hands DMK a handsome victory

People in the Cauvery delta threw their weight behind the DMK as the party bagged six district panchayats with ample majority.

TIRUCHY: People in the Cauvery delta threw their weight behind the DMK as the party bagged six district panchayats with ample majority.In the delta heart land of Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur, DMK registered massive victories in both unions and districts panchayat. Strong presence of the Left parties helped the DMK alliance in Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur. Also, the latter is home town of late chief minister M Karunanidhi.So impressive was the performance in Tiruchy, Perambalur and Pudukkottai that even senior DMK functionaries expressed surprise.  In the six districts, DMK managed to get complete majority, meaning the party can get the district panchayat presidents without the support of allies.

In Nagapattinam, of the 21 district councilor posts, DMK won 14. In Tiruvarur, out of 18 district councilor posts, DMK got 10 seats. In Thanjavur, out of 28 district councilor posts, DMK got 21 seats. In Pudukkottai, 11 out of 22 district councilor seats won by DMK. The four districts were bore the brunt of cyclone Gaja last year. Complaints of slow rehabilitation and inadequate compensation could have tilted the scales in favour of the principal opposition party,  observers opined.

Tiruchy has 24 district councillor posts, of which 18 were won by the DMK. In Perambalur, out of 8 district councilor posts, DMK won 7.DMK’ strongman and former minister K N Nehru clinched victory despite the presence of two ministers - Vellamandi N Natarajan and S Valarmathi in the district.

Victory of DMK in parts of Tiruchy and Perambalur could be attributed to alliance with Parivendar’s IJK. It was because there were pockets of Udayar community vote banks in this region.The DMK, however, could not taste success in Karur and Ariyalur. The defeat in Karur was despite the shifting of loyalties by heavyweight V Senthil Balaji to DMK.

Matter of support
Of the 1,438 union councillor posts in eight districts in the central region, DMK won 709 seats. PMK, a major ally of AIADMK, has no significant presence in there except for Ariyalur and Nagapattinam. Hence, the ruling party has to rely on its own strength, and minor support of DMDK and BJP.

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