Political parties against holding local body polls
The Hindu
Congress-led SDPA has called for a bandh from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. today
As political parties close ranks in their opposition to the conduct of the local body elections in its present form and schedule, the Congress-led Secular Democratic Progressive Alliance (SDPA) called for a dawn-to-dusk bandh on Monday seeking restoration of reservation for Backward Classes (BC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in civic bodies.
The State Election Commission (SEC) had, on the intervention of the Madras High Court in a petition, rescinded its 2019 poll notification order that earmarked constituencies for BC and ST sections by way of rectification of anomalies and notified afresh the conduct of elections in three phases on November 2, 7 and 13.
After an urgent meeting of constituents at the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) office, the SDPA, comprising parties such as Congress, DMK, VCK, Left parties and the MDMK, issued the call for a bandh from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The meeting, chaired by PCC president A V Subramanian, passed a resolution calling for the bandh and flayed the “bungling” of the SEC in rescinding the reservation for BCs and STs in municipalities, commune panchayats and wards.