As many as 200 councillors of the Chennai Corporation, who were elected during the recently-concluded urban local body polls in Tamil Nadu, Wednesday took oath at the Rippon Building in Chennai after a gap of 10 years in the presence of Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi.
Back in 2011, the AIADMK had won a majority in both the rural and urban local body polls. Though the tenure of the officials ended in 2016, the elections for local bodies didn’t happen due to several legal issues.
Different parties had filed cases over a variety of concerns, including law and order problems, inadequate reservation for Scheduled Tribes and allegation that the polls were announced in a hurried manner without giving enough time for the Opposition parties to make preparations. The local rural body polls took place in two phases in October 2021.
The urban local body polls across the state were conducted in a single phase on February 19 and the results were declared on February 22.
Of the 200 councillors, 102 were women. One among them would be elected as the Mayor of the city as the state government has reserved the seat for women from the scheduled caste (SC) community. Like Chennai, the newly-formed Tambaram Corporation in Chengalpattu district will also get its first woman Mayor from the SC community.
A total of 153 candidates of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, 15 from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, 13 from Congress, five Independent candidates, four each from Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Viduthalai Siruthaigal Katchi, two from Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, one each from the Communist Party of India, Indian Union Muslim League, BJP and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam took oath Wednesday.
The indirect elections for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor will take place on March 4.