After 5-yr gap, Corporations in State to have council, Mayor

In the wake of Chief Minister MK Stalin informing the Assembly that the polls to urban local bodies will be held, the official machinery has started dusting off files related to the local body polls. Sources said the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission will hold the polls within two to three months so that the civic administrations are ready to handle the monsoon from October. 

According to TNSEC sources, State Election Commissioner V Palanikumar on Tuesday conducted an internal meeting with officials to discuss the Supreme Court directions and the observations made. Based on these, SEC is prepared to conduct the polls, an informed source said. 

The first phase of civic polls in rural areas was conducted on December 27 and 30, but the polls to urban local bodies is yet to be held since 2016. The SEC would hold polls for 15 municipal corporations and around 100 municipalities. The DMK had moved a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the notification as the election process was not followed as per the law and the recent formation of new revenue districts.