Series: Assembly Elections 2021

The upcoming Assembly polls will be a watershed moment in Tamil Nadu, as this is the first MLA elections after the death of the two political stalwarts -- M Karunanidhi (DMK) and J Jayalalithaa (AIADMK). In their absence, the next generation of politicians -- MK Stalin and Edappadi K Palaniswami -- have taken the lead to steer the respective parties. On the third front of the battle is actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party.   The two Dravidian parties have released their manifestos for the upcoming State Assembly elections. From freebies to waiving education loans to reducing the price…

Chennai is one among the many urban civic bodies in Tamil Nadu that has not had local body elections in the last 10 years. The state government has been administering the cities and towns by appointing special officers in place of the Mayor and councillors. There has been a lot of hue and cry over the absence of an elected local government, but with little effect. Now with the State Assembly elections around the corner, will it pave the way for conduct of municipal elections? Can we expect to see concrete reforms in urban governance? Will Chennai and other cities in…

Nominated by the Election Commission of India (ECI), a District Election Officer (DEO) supervises election-related work in the district. In other words, the officer is responsible for ensuring good polling percentage, preparation of booths, setting up the grievance redressal system in coordination with the ECI, and conduct of other election-related duties.  G Prakash, Commissioner of the Greater Chennai Corporation is the DEO of Chennai. Ahead of him lies the Herculean task of ensuring safe, smooth elections during an ongoing pandemic, as the city gets set to vote along with the rest of the state in the Assembly elections scheduled for…