Tamil Nadu : Civic Elections: Politics from Above

While the regrouping of the DMK and the AIADMK alliances and the two incidents - the dramatic arrest of M Karunanidhi and the installation of Jayalalitha to the chief minister's post - may well have influenced voting patterns, essentially, it is the change in character of politics that has determined the outcome. A case in point is the unexpectedly good showing of the BJP at the local level.