Councillors missing amid coronavirus pandemic

Just when it appeared that elections to

urban local bodies

in Tamil Nadu, postponed for nearly a decade, would finally be held, the coronavirus outbreak has come as the new spoiler.


The

state election commission

, after obtaining due clearance from the Supreme Court, had made preparations to hold election to urban civic bodies along with rural local bodies in the nine new districts in May, but now it will have to be postponed by a few months.

It is unfortunate that at this critical juncture where each area has its own varied set of issues, the seats of councillors and chairpersons of urban local bodies lie vacant. Had these electoral representatives been there, the government would have had a better hold over supplies of essential goods and relief to vulnerable sections of society in each and every ward.

Elections were to be held for 15

municipal corporations

, 148 municipalities and 561

town panchayats

, besides rural bodies in nine new districts --- Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, Vellore, Thirupathur, Ranipet, Villupuram, Kallakuruchi, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi -- as a result of bifurcation and trifurcation of existing districts. It required extensive groundwork for the State Election Commission, which had to frame proper rules to provide reservations for women and SC/ST in the newly-formed districts. Elections are likely to be held in August-September.

Before the threat of the virus, the SEC had undertaken an elaborate exercise in these districts and the authorities were geared up to hold the polls in May. The boundaries of the districts and their taluks had been re-drawn, while the state had also announced the list of new district panchayats and panchayat unions of the bifurcated and trifurcated districts with effect from February 15. Public hearings had been held to clear the decks for polls to enable the SEC to declare the delimitation of wards.

TNSEC commissioner R Palaniswamy had held several meetings with revenue and district administrative officials to finalise the poll arrangements. The commissioner had also asked district collectors to identify the polling booths and be in a state of readiness to hold elections. In Chennai, the corporation had released a draft list of 5,759 booths, identified across 200 wards, in February. The final list of voters and polling booths was to be released on March 5. A similar exercise had been undertaken by district collectors to finalise the draft list of voters and booths as per the new districts.

On the political front, the ruling AIADMK is said to have been ready for the polls, with lists of candidates almost finalised. A ticklish issue was the demand of some allies for a few mayoral seats but with the AIADMK government reviving the indirect election method, the party expressed its helplessness in arriving at a pre-poll arrangement with allies. The DMK, on the other hand, which was more intent on seeking a legal redressal of issues relating to reservation and delimitation, had appeared to be less prepared for polls and this deferment could give them some more time. What’s in their favour is the success of the rural local body polls in January, which galvanised the opposition front, even though hiccups remain relating to demand for mayoral seats. The strategies of the AIADMK and DMK will be keenly watched as eight of the 15 mayoral posts have been reserved for women.

In the last elections to the state urban local bodies in 2011, the ruling AIADMK, contesting on its own strength under J Jayalalithaa’s leadership, made a clean sweep of the 10 mayoral posts and winning 89 of the 125 municipalities, DMK bagged 23. The DMK is bolstered by allies like the Left, Congress, MDMK and VCK among others, to pose a strong challenge to the ruling party’s mobilisation of men and material. Since the AIADMK too has new allies in the DMDK, PMK, BJP and TMC, a battle royale is on the cards with general elections to the state assembly just a year away.

Rather than overburdening bureaucrats, the state should see the urban local body polls as a blessing and realise the importance of councillors as foot soldiers at the ward level. Funds blocked by the Centre for not holding civic polls can be released to the state. Citizens can seek the help of councillors in getting relief, and the government will have a way of ensuring last-mile connectivity.

(The writer is a veteran journalist)