DINDIGUL: Dindigul district, where nascent AIADMK tasted its first electoral victory in 1973 and then continued to remain its bastion, is seemingly slipping out of the party’s hand as its candidates in four Assembly constituencies are finding the going tough.
In continuation of the trend set during MGR’s times, AIADMK and its allies together won five of the seven Assembly constituencies in the district - Natham, Vedasandur, Palani, Nilakottai and Dindigul – in the 2011 elections.
But now certain political factors have come into play, making it not that easy for the AIADMK in view of a substantial number of supporters of PWA. The PMK also has its presence in Dindigul town and a few rural pockets.
In Natham, AIADMK has lost its support base after shifting of sitting MLA and minister Natham R. Viswanathan to Athoor to take on DMK strongman and sitting MLA I. Periasamy. So the present Natham AIADMK candidate S Shajahan is unable to put up a strong fight against his rival DMK. A. M. Andi Ambalam’s father late Congress leader M. Andi Ambalam had won the Natham seat several times between 1977 and 1996. And only after his demise, Viswanathan managed to strengthen AIADMK base in Natham by winning four consecutive times from the constituency.
Besides the anti-incumbency wave against Viswanathan, the caste arithmetic is in favour of Andi Ambalam, while in Athoor, Periyasamy is too big a rival for Viswanathan to defeat, despite his family members intensively campaigning for the last one month.
Though AIADMK fielded former MP and senior politician C. Sreenivasan against his rival DMK Pasir Ahmed in Dindigul constituency, party sources claim AIADMK cadre are not extending full support to him. But senior AIADMK functionaries said Sreenivasan who won four times as MP from Dindigul parliamentary constituency, enjoys wider support among people both in rural and town areas.
The DMK candidate Pasir Ahmed, who served as Dindigul municipality chairman, also has a strong support base in Dindigul town and with Muslim population.
And CPI (M) and PMK who are contesting in the constituency would divide the votes of Dravidian parties.
In Oddanchatram constituency, AIADMK has fielded Thoppampathi Panchayat Union chairman K Kittusamy against DMK sitting MLA R. Chakkarapani who has been retaining the constituency since 1996. Even here, the caste factor may work in DMK’s favour.
The Palani constituency is facing a three-cornered contest between DMK, AIADMK and CPI (M). Palani which remained a reserved constituency between 1967 and 2006, became a general constituency in the last election after merger
of Kodaikanal from Periyakulam after delimitation. The DMK senior leader I. Periasamy’s son Senthil Kumar who lost by 1,000 votes in the last election is contesting against AIADMK former MP K. Kumarasamy and faces a better prospect.
