Vote share static for captains party

CHENNAI: Actor Vijayakanth-led DMDK’s support base has remained more or less static, the results of the local body polls in the state have proved. The main opposition party in the Tamil Nadu Assembly won 868 seats across the state in the local body elections, proving itself as party with the third largest support base after the two Dravidian parties. The party garnered 10.11 per cent votes against AIADMK’s 39.02 per cent and DMK’s 26.1 per cent. The DMDK, that took off in 2005, secured 8.38 per cent vote share and 10.09 per cent in the 2006 Assembly and 2009 Lok Sabha polls respectively, when it contested alone.However,  in a release here, the DMDK claimed that the party has fared well than the 2006 local body elections by winning more number of seats. The party said it has polled 35.64 votes in the local body polls. Meanwhile, in a related development, as many as 387 local body functionaries belonging to DMK, Congress, DMDK and independents, including three municipal chairmen, 12 town panchayat chairpersons, 138 panchayat union ward members, 65 municipal councillors and 153 town panchayat ward members joined the AIADMK in the presence of party leader and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.Welcoming them into the AIADMK fold, the CM asked them to work for the people by fulfilling their needs and presented them the party membership cards.Those who joined the party on Monday include three municipal chairmen-B Velayutham (Anakaputhur), K Dhanasekaran (Kumarapalayam) and V R Palaniraj (Bodinaickanaur)-and 12 town panchayat chairpersons-M Mani (Kaveripakkam), Chithra Karthikeyan (Pudupalayam), M S Sekar (Marakkanam), Rafiathul Fasiria (Kottakuppam), Pon Damodaran (Manalur), Kailasakanni (Gengavalli), S Ramakrishnan (Keeripatti), S Thavasigamani (Kolappalur), S Lalitha (Idikarai), B Rojammal (Kuchanur), S Vaikaidurai (Pattiveeranpatti) and B S Mariappan (Kadambur).