Chennai: With the state Assembly polls scheduled next year, elections to the St Thomas Mount- Pallavaram cantonment has become a prestigious issue for both the ruling AIADMK and its arch-rival DMK. The Dravidian majors have fielded candidates in all seven wards going to polls on Sunday after a period of six years. For the AIADMK, four state ministers including T. K. M. Chinniah, Gokula Indira, B. Valarmathi and B. V. Ramana are focusing on all seven wards. For the DMK, former Chennai mayor M. Subramanian, former Alandur municipal chairmen R. S. Bharathi and former minister T. M. Anbarasan are campaigning.
While the CPI has fielded a candidate to retain a ward it held, the other national parties including the Congress, BJP and the recently floated Tamil Maanila Congress by Vasan have not fielded candidates. According to cantonment chief executive officer S. Prabhakaran, the Kancheepuram district administration has been asked to conduct the elections and for the first time, electronic voting machines are to be used in the cantonment polls.
In St Thomas Mount, there are 34,938 voters and 94 candidates in the fray and all of them have been given independent symbols. Ward two is the division with the most number of candidates and voters. All security arrangements are in place and 29 polling booths are kept ready; polling will be from 9 am to 5 pm, the CEO said.
“Choking sewer lines and waste management are the major issues that have been lying unattended to and the cantonment needs a major civic and infra boost,” said Dr K. Raj, a resident of Pallavaram. It may be noted that Alandur, Pallavaram, St Thomas Mount and Meenambakkam come under the cantonment jurisdiction and Wellington cantonment in Ooty is also gearing up for the elections. It is said that St Thomas mount cantonment is one of oldest cantonments, but in terms of sanitation and roads, the cantonment is far behind. The ward representatives hardly revisit after elections, rued Ms Anitha Ravi, a homemaker in St Thomas Mount.
