Chennai: Nominees of the ruling AIADMK and rebel AIADMK will have to face the namesake candidates in the high profile RK Nagar constituency scheduled for polling on December 21. Four Dhinakarans and three Madhusudhanans are in fray. Independent candidate S. Madhusudhanan will this time contest in electric pole allotted to AIADMK leader E. Madhusudhanan during the rescinded April bypoll. Besides TTV Dhinakaran, three other candidates bearing the name Dhinakaran will contest from free election commission symbols including “box”, “auto rickshaw” and “drill machine”.
“Namesakes can be nemesis in a closely contested election and remember that victory was stolen away from dalit leader Thol Thirumavalavan in the last year assembly poll at Katturmannarkoil constituency, where the VCK leader lost by 83 votes, while name sake independent candidate named T Thirumavalavan got 289 votes changing the result,” said T Tulasi, a DMK cadre now campaigning in RK nagar.
“Besides the name sakes, symbols that were popularized during the April bypoll like “Hat” and “Electric Pole” will also be factor to watched out at the time of counting,” says Poonga Nagar Selvam, an AIADMK functionary. In a high stake elections particularly when there are 59 candidates every vote counts. The name sake factor and the symbols allotted to independents will be a crucial factor in RK Nagar, he added.
According to poll officials, Cricket bat, hockey stick, chess board, whistle, balloon and carrom board were the most sought after symbols. “Due to the symbol drama and the Vishal fresh petition some of us reached home after midnight”, a poll official said. Again when the two proposers were summoned by the poll officials, the duo in front of general observers reiterated that their signatures were forged, the official said adding it was a tough day.
In one of the video released by the poll officials on Friday, the two proposers made it clear that they were being threatened and are receiving calls from unknown persons. One of the person identified as Sumathi also blamed the media for hounding her. “The camera crew are not allowing us top lead a normal life in RK Nagar,” she pleaded with the general observers at RK Nagar.
