Delimitation favours AIADMK, alleges Opposition

Principal Opposition party the DMK and its allies, including the CPI and MDMK, had made their resentment public citing scores of discrepancies in the exercise right from the publishing of the draft roll with a turnaround time of just 4 days, of which three are holidays. 

Sources said Collectors of Tiruvallur, Nellai, Madurai, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore and Dindigul, among others had invited all political parties seeking objections on the draft delimitation list which was published on December 28 last at Block Development Offices, and other respective local body offices of their respective districts to be registered on or before January 2.

The DMK, in its representation made to the State Election Commission, observed that the Tamil Nadu Delimitation Commission Act 2017 has powers to recommend the delimitation of wards while the Commission was not given any power to sub-delegate such powers to any authority under the Act.

DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi observed that delimitation of constituency is yet another constitutional mandate and cannot be done without the participation of all political parties and citizens.

Seconding his views, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan pointed out that a district Collector had openly admitted that it was the instruction from the top to publish the list and seek objections and get over it soon. “We had already condemned this arbitrary and atrocious way of delimiting wards. We would wait for the government to respond. If it doesn’t, we would step up the protest in a big way,” he added.