Chennai: As DMK leaders commenced interview on Monday for candidates selection for the Assembly elections, some partymen are upbeat about the presence of Congress in the alliance.
Another section is apprehensive of seats they are seeking which may go to the national party, since constituency allocation is not over yet.
Some functionaries from southern districts are happy since the Congress is relatively strong in their region and has sufficient votes to swing the results, even going by the outcome of 2014 Parliamentary elections.
Most partymen from Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli are in an upbeat mood as they feel that Congress could still have enough votes to impact election results. Their buoyancy is rooted in Congress’ performance in the Lok Sabha polls in the two districts. The Congress did well in Thoothukudi, Ottapidaram, Srivaikuntam, Nanguneri, Alangulam and Tenkasi Assembly segments and secured a good share of votes in the other seats barring Kovilpatti and Sankaran-koil, noted a senior functionary.
However, there is apprehension among partymen on the seats that will be allotted to Congress. The DMK functionaries feel that Congress could cite its strength in the southern districts and demand more seats.
A youth wing functionary from Dindigul district who sought party ticket, said “The DMK is very strong in the district and won two seats in 2011 Assembly polls. We lost the Palani seat by a very thin margin. Even in Parliament polls, we did well in all the Assembly segments. Congress got over five per cent votes in Natham Assembly segment alone in the same polls. We are sure that our existing seats, Athoor and Oddanchatram, will be retained, but do not know which of the other seats will go to Congress”.
Partymen from Virudhunagar district too are equally apprehensive and one from Sivakasi said, “there is a general perception that Congress is strong in all southern districts, particularly in Virudhunagar, native of Congress icon K. Kamaraj. But, Congress has managed to get over five per cent votes in Rajapalayam and Virudhunagar seats alone, while DMK has retained its base. Our party should field more candidates in district this time”.
