Chennai: With the last date for filing nominations for six Rajya Sabha seats from TN ending on Tuesday, only six candidates including four from AIADMK and one each from DMK and CPM have filed their papers thereby eliminating the necessity of an election.
At least 34 legislative votes are needed for electing each candidate for the six RS seats from the state.
While the term for the present RS members ends on April 2, the nomination papers will be scrutinised on January 29 and the last date for withdrawal of applications will be January 31. If there are no withdrawals until 3 pm on Friday, all candidates who have filed their nominations will be elected to the RS from Tamil Nadu.
As of now, the likely RS members for the coming term are Muthukaruppan, A.K. Selvaraj, Sasikala Pushpa and Vijila Sathyanarayanan from AIADMK, T.K. Rengarajan (CPM) and Tiruchy N. Siva from DMK. These candidates will be automatically elected unless some of them decide to withdraw their nomination which is highly unlikely.
The decision by DMDK not to field a candidate for the RS despite having 21 votes and being wooed by DMK for an electoral alliance for the coming Lok Sabha polls clearly indicates that Captain is in no mood to forge an alliance with the Dravidian party.
Of the 29 DMDK members in the Assembly, Panruti Ramachandran left the party while seven others shifted to AIADMK camp.
Reliable sources say the DMK patriarch was gladly willing to extend his 26 votes including two belonging to the Manidhaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) and one vote of Puthiya Tamizhagam Krishnasamy to Captain’s DMDK if only he agreed to joining hands with DMK for fighting Lok Sabha elections thereby elevating his party to the Rajya Sabha.
“Kalaignar could have forced Tiruchy N. Siva to withdraw his nomination if only Captain was willing to extend his support. But the DMDK leader decided to stay away and has sent a strong message on his animosity for DMK and his leaning towards an alliance with the saffron brigade,” said a veteran political analyst.
The other major indicator of the political mood in the state is the decision by DMK to rift further away from Congress which has five votes in its basket. Sources point out that the Congress high command was expecting an RS seat from TN with DMK support in exchange for the support it lent to DMK in making Kanimozhi an MP in the past.
“But, Kalaignar categorically avoided the Congress and nominated Siva for the seat indicating the snapping of ties,” a sources said.
