For the second time, the Pattali Makkal Katchi has found itself to be on the wrong side.
The PMK, which was once described as the “weather vane” of the political scene, drew a blank in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, losing all the six seats it contested in Tamil Nadu and the sole Puducherry seat.
At that time, it had aligned with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Out of 30 constituencies it contested in the Assembly elections, the PMK won two and was leading in one constituency.
This time, the humiliation was greater as the party president and three-time Member of Legislative Assembly G.K. Mani lost.
In fact, the party's performance this time was marginally worse than what the party had achieved 15 years ago.
In 1996, when the PMK contested the elections without the support of principal political parties – Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, it won four seats.
This time, the consolation for the party is that Kaduvetti Guru, a prominent leader of the party, has been elected from the Jayamkodan constituency, after a series of electoral defeats in the last five years.
Functionaries of the party are clueless as to what went wrong in the polls.
