A controversy has erupted in Madurai after the statue of M. Karunanidhi in the Simmakkal area was allegedly left uncovered despite the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct following the announcement of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Leaders of parties belonging to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have accused officials of acting with bias, claiming that statues of some political leaders were covered while Karunanidhi’s statue remained uncovered.
The election schedule for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls was announced on Sunday (15 March 2026) evening, after which the Model Code of Conduct came into effect across the district. As part of the guidelines, authorities began covering statues, photographs, and political symbols associated with party leaders across Madurai district.
According to officials, municipal staff covered the full statues of MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa in the KK Nagar area using cloth, in line with the election rules.
However, NDA functionaries alleged that the full statue of Karunanidhi located in Simmakkal had not been covered, raising questions over the uniform implementation of the election guidelines.
Opposition leaders claimed that despite the Model Code coming into force and the district administration being under the supervision of the District Collector during the election period, some officials were allegedly acting in favour of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
They questioned whether free and fair elections could be conducted if such alleged bias continued and demanded that officials responsible for the lapse be transferred immediately.
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