CHENNAI: Taking a dig at the Chief Minister, senior DMK leader Durai Murugan on Friday said it was "fear of defeat" that had suddenly dawned on Mr. Edappadi K Palaniswami to bring in an ordinance for indirect elections to choose mayors and municipal chairmen by respective councilors in urban local bodies.
In a statement here, Durai Murugan said the Palaniswami-led government after taking 'adjournment after adjournment' in the courts to avoid the local bodies elections, had now reached a stage where the elections have become unavoidable. With the pressure mounting the Chief Minister suddenly decided to revert to indirect elections for mayors and chairmen of urban local bodies. "What is the compulsion behind this volte-face is our leader M K Stalin's poser," he said.
Durai Murugan said even until recently, the Chief Minister had been insisting that only direct elections to mayors and chairmen posts in urban local bodies, but strangely went back on it, puzzling one and all.
Meanwhile, DMK general secretary Prof K Anbazhagan said party applicants seeking tickets for posts of mayors, chairmen of municipalities and town panchayats can get back the application amounts from the respective district offices of the DMK, between November 28- November 30 with the government issuing the 'indirect elections ordinance'.
The last date for applying for other posts in local bodies has been extended to November 27.
