All Tamil Nadu civic bodies under its control, DMK nips ‘trouble’ in bud, eases out two mayors

In what is being seen as a stern message to all its councillors, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) oversaw the resignation of two of its mayors from their posts on Wednesday. While the Tirunelveli and Coimbatore mayors cited “personal reasons” for their decision, the move followed complaints against the two over alleged indiscipline, not taking everyone along, fund irregularities, and even failing to ensure quorum in corporation council meetings on occasion.

The DMK controls all the 21 corporations across Tamil Nadu, and the party does not want to leave any possibility for trouble in these urban areas in the 2026 Assembly polls.

A senior DMK leader said: “The two mayors who resigned failed to take the party councillors along. Complaints had been received against both from councillors and local party leaderships regarding their handling of funds and style of functioning.” The leader said the two were given time to mend their ways, “but they failed, and we couldn’t let the situation get worse”.

Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru, a DMK veteran, was tasked with sorting the issue. Coimbatore Mayor A Kalpana and Tirunelveli Mayor P M Saravanan were both called to Chennai before they were told to step down.

While officially Kalpana cited health issues for her decision to resign, denying any pressure from the party, sources blamed criticism from within the ranks and the alleged interference in her duties by her husband Anandakumar, a DMK district committee member. Despite the party asking the council to resolve the differences before the Lok Sabha elections, the issues reportedly persisted.

Anger was brewing against Saravanan in the Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation on reportedly the same grounds, though he cited family