CHENNAI: Ruling AIADMK functionaries are now preparing a dossier to be submitted to party high command on the reasons behind the party’s poor show in Greater Chennai. Besides flood, a major reason is the anti incumbency and bad reputation of Chennai corporation councillors among voters.
“The report will have details like the number of votes secured in the past Lok Sabha and previous Assembly polls and how the votes got transferred to DMK in this elections”, an AIADMK councillor said.
“In the Assembly and last Lok Sabha polls, Anna Nagar voted for AIADMK with 15,000 plus votes but we were shocked to see the defeat of our minister Gokula Indira by a margin less than 2,000 votes. In fact, I alerted the minister during canvassing not to accommodate a few councillors in the campaign vehicle as they have earned a bad reputation,” the councillor said.
“Wherever the councillor is corrupt and not public friendly those wards voted in favour of DMK, while our counterparts in rural Tamil Nadu won, we were watching our defeat despite our party candidates doing good across the state,” an AIADMK candidate who lost by a narrow margin told Deccan Chronicle.
“Chennai corporation wards 59, 55 and 78 are wards with slum pockets usually voting in favour of AIADMK but this election, the votes went to DMK and these are wards not affected by flood unlike those in south Chennai. In fact, our party senior D. Jayakumar’s winning margin was reduced to around 8,000 due to errant councillors”, admitted a party functionary in north Chennai.
