Tamil Nadu Is Gripped By Election Frenzy As Nominations Closed

On Friday, the premises of local body offices that have been receiving nominations were packed with people, as many candidates awaited the release of their parties' official lists. The DMK's list for the renowned

Chennai Corporation reached out late on Thursday, at 10 p.m., leaving little time for the nominees to prepare their paperwork and hustle to meet the returning officials.

Numerous candidates from other parties selected the last day for a variety of reasons, resulting in turmoil in many areas and needing police intervention on occasion. Though the police in Chennai were on high alert and did not allow large gatherings to march towards the returning officers, smaller cities saw scenes that were unworthy of the authorities' Covid regulations.

Some candidates were followed by local bands of musicians and traditional dancers as they walked with supporters to submit their papers. A candidate's attempt to storm into the office premises while positioned on a bullock cart in Trichy was foiled by timely police intervention.

When DMK and NTK cadre marched towards the new Corporation headquarters in Vellore, there was a little fight. An dispute erupted when the group in front refused to give way to the group behind it, resulting in fisticuffs. The police separated the two groups right away.

One reason for the rush on the last day was that several parties' lists were only released on Friday, and many hopefuls whose identities were not on the lists opted to submit papers as independents in the hopes of working out a deal with the leaders. Because of the large crowds, election officials made the decision to issue tokens until 5 p.m. and continue collecting nominations even after office hours.

As a result, the final image of the candidate field will emerge only when nominations are withdrawn on February 7.