TN ULB polls: Nominations cross 10K mark with 2 days left

With just 48 hours remaining for filing the nominations, the aspiring councillor candidates across the state on Wednesday thronged the offices of returning officers.

According to latest reports more than 10,000 candidates have filed nominations with Kanniyakumari, Erode and Thoothukudi leading the list. The candidates contesting for town panchayats in southern districts are active and the trend in Coimbatore, Villupuram, Cuddalore is yet to pick up, a senior official told DT Next.

We are expecting the nomination numbers to cross the 40,000 mark in the next two days, the official said adding that the political party representatives have just started filing papers.

The town panchayats in Kanniyakumari had so far recorded 844 nominations followed by Erode and Thoothukudi inching towards 500 mark, the official added.

According to Chennai Corporation sources a total of 310 nominations were filed on Wednesday pushing the total number of candidates to 418 in Chennai. So far, 241 male contestants, 175 female contestants and three candidates under the third gender category had filed papers in Chennai.

Meanwhile, the State Election Commission released short films to create awareness among voters. Earlier, in the day the Opposition AIADMK also filed a complaint with the SEC seeking clarity on nomination process. The AIADMK wondered is it mandatory for the candidates to get a no objection certificate from the local police stations. A few DMK aspirants in Chennai have obtained a clean chit certificate from the police stations to ensure that there is no objection from rival candidates during nomination scrutiny, a new trend in the local body polls, AIADMK sources said.

The last day for submitting nominations is February 4 and February 7 will be the last date for withdrawal of nominations.