Chennai,  The Tamil Nadu urban local body polls may be delayed by a couple of months as the ruling DMK does not want the opposition to rake up the rain-related issues faced by people across the state.

The urban local body polls were to be held either by the end of December or in the first half of January but the rains, which caused huge losses to the people of the state, has made the DMK top brass rethink.

Sources in the party told IANS that the polls would now be delayed till February and Tamil Nadu State Election Commission would recommend the Election Commission to postpone polls citing the havoc created by rains and the need for revamp of infrastructure in several parts of the state.

Many senior leaders of the DMK are eyeing coveted posts like Mayor and Municipal Chairman in the urban local body polls as they know that these postings would catapult them to the higher echelons of power in Tamil Nadu.

Present Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was a former Mayor of Chennai as was Health minister, Ma Subramanian.

According to the DMK party hierarchy, the leaders who want to contest polls have to submit an application to the party and most of the influential leaders across the state have not submitted their application. This, according to party sources, is due to the fact that these leaders have been tipped off by party leadership that the polls may be postponed.

The DMK leadership has, according to sources, cited the possibilities of spread of Omicron variant of Covid-19 also as another reason for postponing the polls.

Talking to IANS, a senior DMK leader, who is eyeing the post of Chennai Mayor, said: "The senior leadership of the party is likely to postpone the elections to the urban local bodies as rain-related issues are still plaguing the administration."