In a significant development, Tirunelveli Mayor P M Saravanan and Coimbatore Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar resigned from their positions on Wednesday. Submitting their resignations to the respective corporation commissioners, both mayors from Tamil Nadu's ruling party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) quit from their posts.
Kalpana, the first female Mayor from the DMK, submitted her resignation to Corporation Commissioner Sivaguru Prabakaran.
Kalpana Anandakumar was appointed through the influence of former minister V Senthil Balaji, who is currently in prison in a cash-for-job scam case. Her tenure has been marred by accusations of corruption from her party colleagues and councilors, who also accused her husband Anandakumar. Amidst this backlash, Kalpana cited personal reasons for her resignation.
On the resignation, Corporation Commissioner Sivaguru Prabakaran informed reporters that Kalpana stepped down due to "personal reasons." When questioned about potential health concerns, he clarified that her decision was influenced by both health and family matters. Kalpana assumed office as Mayor following the DMK and its allies' success in the local body elections in February 2022.
Kalpana's departure marks the second mid-term resignation of a Coimbatore mayor in recent history, the first being S.M. Velusamy of the AIADMK, who stepped down in 2014.
In Tirunelveli, internal strife within the local body has been intense since the councillors assumed office in 2022. Mayor Saravanan has faced numerous complaints to the DMK high command, accusing him of obstructing development activities. This discontent culminated in December 2023 when DMK councillors filed a no-confidence motion against Saravanan, according to a report on The Week.
Amid the row, Saravanan has resigned as the Mayor citing personal reasons.
In the most recent local body elections held in 2022, the DMK achieved a significant victory, securing 43.59% of the vote share. The party won 952 out of 1,374 corporation ward councillor seats, 2,360 out of 3,843 municipal ward member seats, and 4,388 out of 7,621 town panchayat ward member seats.
