K.N.Sekar. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: K.N. Sekar, a Pattali Makkal Katchi councillor, was elected chairman of the Ambattur municipality on Saturday.

The 52 councillors of Ambattur who were sworn in on Wednesday chose the chairman and vice-chairman amid tight security. Though the election meeting was scheduled to start at 9.30 a.m., councillors trickled in only around 10 a.m. According to municipal officials, several councillors said the time fixed was inauspicious.

The election was held at 10.15 a.m, with V. Alexander of the AIADMK also contesting for the chairman's post. While Mr. Sekar got 35 votes, Mr. Alexander polled 17 votes.

Later, the councillors elected DMK candidate K. Neelakandan vice-chairman by casting 34 votes. M. Kandappan of the AIADMK got 15 votes. One vote was declared invalid, and a councillor did not attend the election. The newly elected chairman said long pending works such as the underground drainage project would be immediately looked into. A meeting would be convened with municipal officials on Monday to discuss about matters that need attention.

At Avadi, Congress candidate "Victory" Mohan was chosen as municipal chairman without opposition from the 48 councillors. This will be his second term as municipal chairman. The AIADMK's Abdul Raheem, a third-time councillor, was elected vice- chairman by polling 28 votes against the DMK's G. Rajendran.

The party cadres celebrated their candidates victory by bursting crackers and raising slogans in front of the Avadi municipal office. The new council is expected to hold its first meeting by first week of November. D. Shanmugam, the newly elected chairman of Madhavaram Municipality on Saturday said immediate measures would be taken to control water-logging and improve civic amenities in the local body.

Mr. Shanmugam was elected after winning 17 votes out of 30 in the Municipal Council. He was the only PMK councillor but he received the support of 12 DMK councillors, a Congress and four Independents. The election was held amidst tight security. DMK councillor S. Sudharsanam was elected vice-chairman. He said the Madhavaram underground sewerage project, approved by the State Government and estimated to cost about Rs. 28 crore, would be expedited.

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