R Priya, Sridhani top contenders for Mayor

With the results of the urban local body elections having been declared, a few names for the mayor and deputy mayor posts have been doing the rounds. Interestingly, Kavitha Narayanan, who was considered one of the front runners for the Mayor’s post, lost in Ward 17, to AIADMK candidate R Jaishankar by 123 votes.

Sources said R Priya, daughter of former DMK MLA Chengai Sivam, is likely to become the first DMK mayor in a decade. “She is only 28 and comes from Perambur constituency. This will be advantageous if Chief Minister MK Stalin decides to appoint a young candidate, ” a source said. Another probable is Sridhani. “If the DMK decides to appoint a youngster, both Priya and Sridhani have an equal chance. The loss of Kavitha Narayanan has made guessing difficult,” the source added.

The Mayor’s post has been reserved for women belonging to the SC category and 12 DMK candidates won from 16 wards which are reserved for the category. There are no politically experienced contenders for the post. This makes the post of deputy mayor more important now. There are a couple of experienced contenders in the fray, ” sources added. N Citrarasu, district in-charge (Chennai West), is one of the front runners as he is considered one of DMK youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s close aides.

Chief Executive Member K Dhanasekaran, who contested unsuccessfully in the State assembly election in 2011 and 2016 and is a former Councillor, is also a tough contender. Dhanasekaran was denied a ticket to contest in the 2021 Assembly polls, as DMK preferred a new face and youngster AMV Prabhakar Raja. Dhanasekaran was promised a top post in the civic body when the ticket was given to Raja, a party source said.