Braving odds, PMK fares well in central region

May 19, 2014 02:33 am | Updated May 24, 2016 12:11 pm IST - TIRUCHI:

Against odds, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has put up a good show, in terms of votes polled, in both Chidambaram and Mayiladuthurai.

The PMK was allotted eights seats in the BJP-led alliance, and three of them are in the central region: Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam and Chidambaram, both reserved.

The PMK put up K. Agoram in Mayiladuthurai a few months before the elections were announced. For Chidambaram and Nagapattinam, candidates were announced at the eleventh hour.

After the Congress denied him ticket for Chidambaram, K.I. Manirathinem quit the party and joined the PMK by March-end. The PMK rewarded him instantly, nominating him as candidate for the seat.

However, Mr. Manirathinem’s joy was short-lived as his nomination was rejected during scrutiny. His wife Sudha Manirathinem, who had filed her papers as alternative candidate, became an official nominee.

For Nagapattinam, the party announced the candidature of S. Vadivel Ravanan on the last date of the filing of nominations. While the party founder, S. Ramadoss, addressed election meetings in Chidambaram, before Mr. Manirethinam’s candidature was announced, Anbumani Ramadoss was the lone leader to canvass support for Mr. Agoram in Kumbakonam, that too for a day.

Despite the absence of star campaigners, Sudha Manirathinem polled 2.79 lakh votes in Chidambaram, to finish third, behind the AIADMK and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi candidates.

Mr. Agoram polled 1.44 lakh votes to finish third, ahead of the Congress nominee. Even in Nagapattinam, where the PMK did not have a significant vote base, Mr. Vadivel Ravanan polled over 43,000 votes, 20,000 more than the Congress nominee.

The PMK’s good showing in Chidambaram and Mayiladuthurai indicates a consolidation of votes along caste lines. Mindful of its strong base in both these seats, the PMK had been fielding candidates ever since it jumped into the electoral fray, in the 1989 general election. Its candidates, Dalit Ezhilmalai (1998) and E. Ponnusamy (1999 and 2004), tasted success in Chidambaram. Both served in the Vajpayee-led NDA governments for brief periods.

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