DMK regains Manapparai municipality from AIADMK

Trichy: DMK regained the reins of Manapparai municipality in Trichy district on Tuesday when its candidates won the posts of chairman and vice-chairman trouncing their AIADMK rivals in the indirect elections held for the second time. Party candidate Geetha A Michael Raj, 60, from ward 25 beat her rival S Raman of AIADMK by bagging 18 votes as against the latter’s eight to become the chairperson of the 27-ward municipality. DMK councillor R Muthulakshmi of ward 17 won the post of vice-chairperson by polling 15 votes against 11 by her AIADMK opponent L Ethiraj of ward 12. One vote each was declared invalid in both the elections. In the urban local body election held in March, the DMK alliance and AIADMK had won 11 seats each while independents got five seats. Sudha Baskaran fielded by AIADMK who got 15 votes was elected chairperson. Thus AIADMK captured Manapparai municipal corporation for the first time since 1969. However, Sudha Baskaran resigned as chairperson on June 27 as the first council meeting could not be convened within the mandatory 90 days for want of quorum. Councillors of DMK as well as allies CPI and Congress had refrained from attending the meeting. No breakthrough could be achieved even after the Madurai bench of Madras high court passed a direction to convene it on May 25 based on a plea by AIADMK council members. Opposition leader in the assembly Edappadi K Palaniswami had issued a statement on May 28 criticising the DMK for ‘crippling’ the municipality. With Tuesday’s development, DMK has won all municipalities in Trichy, having bagged Thuraiyur, Thuvakudi, Lalgudi and Musiri already. AIADMK Trichy south district secretary and two-time MP P Kumar called the DMK win a sabotage. “DMK purchased three of our councillors to support its candidate. In today’s indirect election, three councillors of AIADMK voted for DMK,” he told TOI. Kumar said that switching sides by AIADMK councillors had nothing to do with the ongoing factional feud in the party. “They still claim that they are with the EPS faction,” he said.