The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has managed to increase the number of wards secured by the party in urban local bodies, as compared to the last urban polls in Tamil Nadu held in 2011. As of 7.50 pm, the party has won in 22 corporation wards, 56 municipality wards, and 230 Town Panchayat wards. In 2011, they had won four corporation wards, 37 municipality wards and 185 Town Panchayat wards.
BJP candidate Uma Anandan from Ward 134 in Chennai Corporation has been elected as the councillor. In Bhavanisagar town panchayat of Erode, BJP candidate Narendran, who contested in Ward 11, had got only one vote and he has stated that ‘his family members, friends and party cadre did not vote for him’ and that ‘everyone cheated him by giving false assurances.’
A BJP candidate was also reported to win by lucky draw in the fourth ward of Panagudi town panchayat in Tirunelveli. As both AIADMK and BJP candidates had acquired 266 votes each, it was decided that the winner would be elected by lucky draw. In the draw, BJP candidate Manuvel was announced as the winner.
BJP had fielded 5,480 candidates in nearly 43% of the 12,838 seats in 649 urban local bodies (ULBs), in the state, according to a Times of India report.
On January 31, TN BJP President K Annamalai announced that the party will contest alone after a stalemate during seat-sharing talks with the AIADMK. “The BJP is a fast-growing party, and the local body polls are also given central importance. There are many in the party who wish to contest the polls. The decision to listen to our cadres is an important one for state BJP leaders. It is a justifiable demand that a specific number of our cadre can contest, that we want to try and strengthen the party. At the same time, a large party like the AIADMK has many problems. Because of this, we have made an extremely important decision. In the upcoming local body polls, BJP will contest the elections alone,” Annamalai said. He added that this will not affect the alliance between the parties, which will continue at the national level.