A comparison of vote share data between the 2011 and 2022 elections to the Greater Chennai Corporation showed that the victory of the alliance led by the ruling DMK was indeed huge as it secured more than half of the total votes polled.
The data showed that the AIADMK’s loss was significant with the party just securing 20.82% of votes in the 2022 elections compared to 41.58 % that it secured in the 2011 elections, which it won.
The data showed how the alliance partners of the DMK managed to convert the party’s vote share to their advantage. While the Congress (INC), the CPI(M), the CPI, the VCK, and the MDMK secured vote share of less than 5% in 2011, when they mostly contested alone, their vote share in the contested seats increased to more than 35% each in these elections. However, it has to be noted that these parties contested only 31 seats in this election.
With a vote share of 8.35 % in the contested seats, BJP has made gains by increasing its vote share by 5.6 percentage points compared to the 2011 elections.
The magnitude of AIADMK’s loss is more noticeable when compared with the 27.56 % votes secured by the DMK in the 2011 elections, when it was in the Opposition and lost the urban local bodies election.
The DMK, which fought a huge anti-incumbency wave in 2011, won only two of the 16 constituencies in Chennai, considered its stronghold, in the 2011 Assembly elections. Yet, it managed to secure 27.56% votes in the civic election later that year compared to 20.82% votes polled by the AIADMK now.
While the full details on the share of votes in the seats contested by each party are yet to be released by Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC), data for Chennai can be an indicator of the overall trend.
BJP’s gain
The gain recorded by the BJP is noticeable not only in the increase in its vote share in the contested seats, but also in the number of wards the party managed to finish second and third.
Of the 118 seats contested in 2011, the party secured second position in only one seat and third position in four places in a more contested polity. In comparison, it secured second position in 20 wards and third position in 91 wards with other contestants who were part of the DMK alliance.
Other parties
Among the other parties, the DMDK’s performance worsened significantly. In the seats it contested, the party’s vote share reduced from 8.8 % in 2011 to just 1.5 % in 2022. Similarly, the Pattali Makkal Katchi’s performance took a hit with the party securing just 2.1 % of vote share in contested seats as opposed to 3.1 % in 2011.
The AMMK, the NTK and the MNM, which did not exist in 2011, secured 1.7%, 3.5 % and 2.8% votes respectively in the seats they contested. The AMMK managed to win in just one ward despite such a low vote share.