Kalpana Anandkumar, the Mayor of Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, has resigned from her position citing health reasons. In her resignation letter, Kalpana stated that she was stepping down due to medical issues. Following her resignation, Saravanan, the Mayor of Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation, also tendered his resignation.
Kalpana Anandkumarās tenure as the Mayor of Coimbatore has been marked by ongoing conflicts with various officials, including former Municipal Corporation Commissioners Rajagopal Sunkara and Prathap. Additionally, she has had disputes with municipal contractors. The recent Lok Sabha election activities did not meet the expectations of the DMK leadership, which may have added to the tensions.
On July 3, Kalpana submitted her resignation letter to the Coimbatore Municipal Commissioner Sivaguru Prabakaran through a representative. She cited health reasons for her decision to step down.
In a parallel development, Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation Mayor Saravanan also resigned from his post. It is reported that Saravanan submitted his resignation letter to the Commissioner. The DMK leadership had received multiple complaints against Saravanan from ruling party councillors. Over 35 councillors had previously signed a no-confidence motion against him and submitted it to the Municipal Commissioner, who had announced a vote on the motion in January. However, before the no-confidence vote could take place, Urban Local Bodies Minister Nehru and District In-Charge Minister Thangam Thenarasu held discussions with the councillors. Following assurances given to them, the councillors boycotted the no-confidence vote, leading to the motion’s failure.
Despite this, conflicts between Mayor Saravanan and the councillors persisted. In a recent municipal corporation meeting, only 10 councillors attended, resulting in the meeting being postponed indefinitely due to a lack of quorum. Subsequently, Saravanan was summoned to Chennai, where the party leadership reportedly obtained his resignation letter.
These resignations highlight the internal conflicts and challenges faced by the DMK leadership within the municipal corporations of Coimbatore and Tirunelveli.