The R. K. Nagar byelection scheduled for December 21 is likely to be a closely fought three-horse race between DMK’s Marudhu Ganesh, AIADMK’s E. Madhusudhanan and sidelined AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran who is contesting as an independent.
A section of voters living in and around the Vaidyanathan Bridge suggested that the DMK had an advantage but the fight between Mr. Madhusudhanan and Mr. Dhinakaran would be too close to call.
Many cadre working on the ground to ensure the victory of their candidate unflinchingly state that only money would tilt the election in their favour. “Like actor Ajith Kumar says in Mankatha , the election is going to be about ‘Money, Money, Money.’ This would be true no matter who is contesting this election,” said a party cadre who did not wish to be named.
There is a strong perception that the State government is not functioning as well as it should and focussing all its efforts to set its house in order. Several residents bluntly said that they believed the State government was being controlled by the BJP. While the DMK seems to be in pole position, a section of the voters said that they were unable to choose between Mr. Madhusudhanan, the candidate fielded by the ruling AIADMK, and Mr. Dhinakaran, for many reasons.
Voters confused
“Just a few months ago, the Chief Minister and his team of Ministers came to seek votes for Dhinakaran, now they want us to vote against him…What are we now supposed to do?” a woman wondered.
DMK candidate Marudhu Ganesh, a grassroots worker, seems to enjoy the approval of many voters here. “He is accessible and has done a lot for this area even before he was named as the candidate. We can approach him any time,” said a male voter.
Expressing deep anguish against the ruling party, Chakrapani, a male voter, predicted a win for the DMK. “Even the traditional AIADMK voters will vote for the DMK. Nobody even came here in the last one year. Even if it rains for one hour, the streets fill up. We walk in ankle-deep water. The State government is non-responsive,” he said.
A female voter expressed her peculiar ethical reasoning behind why she would vote for Mr. Dhinakaran: “We received ₹4,000 rupee per head last time around, much more than what the DMK gave. Dhinakaran is standing his ground despite the raids and taking on powerful people. Since that election was called off, we feel that we must honour our commitment. We don’t want to vote for anyone from the current ruling party. If the DMK gives money again, we will vote for them.”
Actor Vishal, who filed his nomination on December 4 that was rejected subsequently, also seems to have garnered much praise and sympathy for making a bold move.
Some young voters said they had their doubts about Mr. Vishal’s chances of winning the bypoll, but they also said that he should have been allowed to contest.
