CHENNAI: Several MLAs have to worry not just about their own track record, but that of their councillors too, as ward-level performance emerges as a decisive factor in the city assembly constituencies.Locals are judging parties not only on macro governance, but on how effectively hyper-local civic issues — water supply, sewer connections and building clearances — were handled.
Councillors with a poor reputation could drag down prospects of party candidates in the constituencies concerned.
DMK govt last year dismissed three councillors —V Babu (Pallikaranai), K P Chokkalingam (Tiruvottiyur) and C Jaya Pradeep (Tambaram) — over allegations of halting civic works, threatening contractors for kickbacks and ignoring public grievances. I n Pallikaranai, one councillor was also accused of seeking money from the public for accessing a GCC-owned sports turf.In Thiruvanmiyur, complaints surfaced against a councillor’s husband for calling the shots on behalf of his wife.Across pockets such as Harbour, Ambattur, Thiruvanmiyur and Tiruvottiyur, councillors face allegations of interfering in construction, extorting money for basic services and stalling civic works.T S Sridhar, an activist from Sowcarpet, said basic services in Mannadi, George Town and Wall Tax Road were affected.“Nothing moves here without paying Rs 2 lakh for construction and Rs 25,000 for water and sewer lines. People did not face this issue when there were no councillors, and this will impact voting,” said Sridhar, who has submitted complaints to GCC. M Balamurugan, former member of GCC’s town vending committee, said vendor families too were hit.“The committee was not implemented, and carts meant for vendors were auctioned at Rs 500/day. Earlier, vendors did not have to pay bribes, but now it goes up to Rs 10,000. If registered vendors did not opt for carts, councillors gave them to associates who were not even registered vendors,” he said, adding that the discontent would reflect in votes.Unlike Lok Sabha polls, where parties can offset weak pockets with broad sweeps from elsewhere, assembly polls are far more granular. As wards have 10,000 to 30,000 votes each, local discontent can swing results if a fight is three-cornered.Candidates are now scrambling to resolve grievances and contain reputational damage. A district secretary hopeful of party ticket said, “quelling anger over local issues is important”.Maduravoyal MLA Karambakkam Ganapathy said there is dissatisfaction over local issues and councillors. “I share my number at public events and stay in touch with residents to address issues,” he said.
