DMK picks Kittu Ramakrishnan as Tirunelveli Mayor candidate

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK on Sunday decided to field party councillor Ramakrishnan, popularly known as Kittu, as the mayoral candidate for Tirunelveli Corporation following the resignation of the previous Mayor, PM Saravanan, who faced opposition from within the party.

The indirect election to appoint the new Mayor is scheduled on Monday (August 5).

Ahead of the election, Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru and Finance and Electricity Minister Thangam Thennarasu, who is the minister in charge of Tirunelveli district, convened a meeting with DMK councillors, district secretaries, and MLAs to officially confirm the new candidate.

After the high command chose Kittu, the DMK councillors are expected to back him unanimously.

Saravanan, who represented the DMK from the 16th ward and was elected Mayor in 2022, had faced trouble due to discord with other councillors, which often led to disruptions in council meetings.

Sources said had Saravanan had approached the party headquarters in Chennai to resolve the issues but later tendered his resignation citing personal reasons.