Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Minorities, government staff and teachers script Congress win

TIRUNELVELI: People belonging to minority communities, government employees and teachers of Palayamkottai Assembly segment in Tirunelveli Parliamentary constituency, who stood by the candidates of DMK and its allies in the past, had once again joined hands to ensure the victory of the candidate who fought the electoral battle against the AIADMK contender.

This time the beneficiary is S. Ramasubbu, Congress candidate for the once AIADMK bastion, Tirunelveli Parliamentary constituency.

As all the six Assembly segments under this constituency are being represented by DMK and Congress MLAs, Mr. Ramasubbu was in an upbeat mood from the beginning of his election campaign. The presence of huge number of teachers, government employees and minorities further boosted his morale.

Since the sitting MLA of Palayamkottai and Minister for Environment, Youth Welfare and Sports T.P.M. Maideen Khan comfortably won the 2006 Assembly polls by a resounding margin of nearly 45,000 votes owing to a vociferous support of the minorities, government employees and teachers, it was presumed that Mr. Ramasubbu also would get a lead of over at least 30,000 votes in Palayamkottai Assembly seat alone.

Sensing the situation, AIADMK candidate K. Annamalai concentrated more on Alangulam, Ambasamudram and Nanguneri segments. He firmly believed that the sizable lead that he could get in Alangulam, Ambasamudram and Nanguneri segments would neutralise the ‘Palayamkottai factor’ and get an edge over the rival candidate, Mr. Ramasubbu.

Though the Congress candidate could get a lead of just over 15,000 votes in Palayamkottai Assembly segment, he successfully made inroads into the rival’s bastion of Alangulam, Ambasamudram and Nanguneri segments where Mr. Annamalai had to unexpectedly concede a lead of over 13,000 votes which ultimately dashed the AIADMK candidate’s hopes.

The only solace for the loser is that he could get a lead of over 5,000 votes in Tirunelveli and Radhapuram constituencies, which was not enough to win the battle. Moreover, the cold war between Mr. Annamalai and the local AIADMK leaders also contributed to his defeat, it is said.

Though it was widely speculated that most of the Roman Catholic Christians (RC) would support the DMDK candidate S. Michael Royappan en masse, he has bagged only 12,155 votes in the Palayamkottai segment, where RC Christians reside in large numbers, even as he has polled more votes in all other Assembly segments. It also proves that the RC votes have gone in favour of Mr. Ramasubbu.

However, Mr. Royappan’s 94,562 votes are also one of the reasons for the AIADMK candidate’s defeat.

Assembly segment-wise votes polled by each candidate:

Alangulam: S. Ramasubbu (Congress) 52,313; K. Annamalai (AIADMK) 49,811; S. Michael Royappan (DMDK) 15,797

Tirunelveli: Congress 46,315; AIADMK 51,679; DMDK 13,917

Ambasamudram: Congress 45,498; AIADMK 41,420; DMDK 17,693

Palayamkottai: Congress 48,681; AIADMK 33,026; DMDK 12,155

Nanguneri: Congress 44,526; AIADMK 38,279; DMDK 16,022

Radhapuram: Congress 36,820; AIADMK 39,302; DMDK 18,949

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