Stalin-Led DMK Party Wins Village Council Polls in India's Tamil Nadu
15:21 GMT 13.10.2021 (Updated: 11:59 GMT 26.10.2022)
© AFP 2023 / ARUN SANKAR
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The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which started the Dravidian movement – one of southern India's biggest egalitarian social shifts – has returned to power in Tamil Nadu after winning a majority in the recent assembly elections.
Months after winning the legislative assembly elections, the ruling party of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu – DMK – on Wednesday emerged victorious at the local village council polls held in nine districts.
The elections were held on two days – 6 and 9 October – with as many as 79,433 candidates vying for 27,003 posts.
Although the official result is yet to be declared by the State Election Commission, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is the clear frontrunner and is expected to win most of the seats of the 140 District Panchayat (village council) Wards, as per Indian media reports.
The local elections have been also viewed as the first test for newly elected State Chief and DMK leader M. K. Stalin.
This is the first election since Stalin took charge of the state in May, after defeating the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance.
Stalin took to Twitter to congratulat all of his party workers and winning candidates. He also thanked voters for the result and called it an endorsement of the first five months of his party's government.
"We will work even harder... will protect the confidence people have in us. The goodwill for us has increased over the last five months," he wrote in the Tamil language.
கொடுத்த வாக்குறுதியைக் காப்பாற்றுகிறது திமுக அரசு என்ற நம்பிக்கையுடன் ஊரக உள்ளாட்சித் தேர்தலில் வெற்றியை வழங்கியுள்ள மக்களாகிய உங்களுக்குத் தொண்டாற்றுவதே நாங்கள் காட்டும் நன்றியாகும்!
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) October 13, 2021
ஓய்வின்றி உழைத்திட்ட உடன்பிறப்புகளுக்கும் கூட்டணிக் கட்சியினருக்கும் வாழ்த்துகளும் - நன்றியும்! pic.twitter.com/pCVxyivU5p
Meanwhile, "#SinglevoteBJP" is trending on Twitter after BJP politician D. Karthik only managed a solitary vote in the polls.
BJP candidate gets only one vote in local body elections. Proud of the four other voters in his household who decided to vote for others pic.twitter.com/tU39ZHGKjg
— Dr Meena Kandasamy ¦¦ இளவேனில் (@meenakandasamy) October 12, 2021
After known BJP got single vote in TN election .. 😂😂😂#ஒத்த_ஓட்டு_பாஜக#Single_Vote_BJP pic.twitter.com/kdQjcwvYGM
— Sathiya Sothanai (@Timepassna) October 12, 2021
However, Karthik later clarified that he contested the election as an independent candidate, not representing the BJP.
