On the last day for filing nominations for the February 19 urban local polls in Tamil Nadu, candidates employed unique ways to grab voters’ attention.
While some of them came riding horses and bullock carts to file their papers on Friday, some others dressed up like kings and political stalwarts such as former chief ministers M G Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi. And a BJP candidate came in the “Bharat Mata” get-up to file her nomination in Coimbatore.
As elections are held to 21 corporations, 138 municipalities, 490 town panchayats and 649 other urban local bodies, the ruling DMK, main Opposition AIADMK, Congress, BJP, Viduthalai Siruthaigal Katchi, CPI(M), CPI, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, Naam Tamizhar Katchi, and Makkal Needhi Maiam have all fielded candidates.
The BJP, which had been part of the AIADMK alliance since 2019, is contesting the local polls alone. The BJP candidate who came dressed up like “Bharat Mata”, Amudhakumari, is running for councillor in ward 19 in Ganapathi Colony in Coimbatore.
Another BJP candidate, Vinoth Kumar, got married on Friday and came alongside his wife straight after their wedding to file his nomination. He is contesting the polls in the Alandur zone of the Chennai corporation.
The scrutiny of the forms will take place on Saturday, and the last date for withdrawing nominations is February 7. The votes will be counted on February 22.
The elected ward members or councillors will take their oath on March 2. And the indirect polls to the posts of mayor and deputy mayor in corporations and chairman and vice-chairman in municipalities and town panchayats will be held on March 4.