Sacrifice, seniority rewarded in DMK’s GCC list

The ruling DMK has factored in service, sacrifice and seniority among others in allotment of councillor tickets in Chennai Corporation. A former councillor who saved people from disaster, a widow of a slain party functionary, son of deceased party senior and defector each and district secretaries, you name it, candidates of various backgrounds have been accommodated in the DMK candidate list for the city corporation.

Sameena Selvam, wife of deceased party area secretary Selvam, who was hacked to death by an unknown gang a few days ago in Madipakkam, has been fielded in Ward 188 in Sholinganallur constituency.

Parithi Ilam Surithi, son of former DMK minister Paruthi Ilamvazhuthi who later defected to the AIADMK, would be DMK candidate in ward 99 where he would be taking on AIADMK’s P Sivakami, a former IAS officer. Former councillor TM Thaniyarasu, who shot to fame after vacating residents of a TNUHDB tenement moments before it crumbled in the city, has been rewarded with ticket in Ward 10 in Tiruvottriyur constituency. Thaniyarasu was personally felicitated by Chief Minister MK Stalin and awarded with Anna award during Republic Day celebrations last week. Youth wing functionary and son of deceased former DMK district secretary J Anbazhagan who succumbed to COVID in June 2020, has been offered a ticket in Ward 141 of the city Corporation.

The DMK high command, which cold-shouldered a couple of its junior district secretaries in last year’s Assembly elections, has done the balancing act in the urban civic polls. N Sitrarasu and Ilayaa Aruna have been fielded in wards 110 in Thousand Lights constituency and 49 in Royapuram constituencies, respectively. Former councillor K Dhanasekaran, who created ruckus in the party headquarters Anna Arivalayam last April after being denied Virugambakkam MLA ticket, has been accommodated in Ward 137 in the same constituency.

A cursory glance of the DMK candidates list for Chennai Corporation suggested that the party has fielded women in over a third of the constituencies it is contesting in. The DMK candidate list, which had a fair share of graduates, including a few doctors and advocates also had an odd blemish. One ticket allocation which raised eyebrows among the party workers was the allotment of Ward 5 to KP Sokkalingam, brother of party MLA KP Sankar, who was stripped of his party post for allegedly roughing up corporation officials during road laying work in the city over a week ago.