SIVAGANGA
From the beginning of the election campaign, the DMK and its allies were sure about emerging victorious in the district for two reasons.
One, there was anger in the AIADMK as the high command did not give a ticket to its Minister G Baskaran, who hailed from the district. Second, the allocation of Karaikudi seat to the BJP led to ruckus in the AIADMK camp as the party's district secretary P.R. Senthilnathan had carried out numerous works during the covid-19 pandemic.
The campaign touched its peak after leaders from the Centre descended here seeking votes for the BJP's senior leader H Raja, who contested from Karaikudi. While Mr Raja was popular in the constituency, the non-cooperation from the AIADMK and its absence at the field level was visible during campaign.
Fielding S. Mangudi from the Congress, a staunch supporter and loyalist of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, the fight became more personal. On many occasions, Mr. Chidambaram repeated that the BJP would not be allowed to win even one seat in Tamil Nadu and his physical presence played a key role. At one point, he even scolded his party men for showing slackness and encouraged them to campaign more vigorously.
The victory of K.R. Periakaruppan, the strongman of the DMK from Tirupathur Assembly, was sure from the time his name was announced. He was HR&CE Minister in Karunanidhi's cabinet in the past. For his seniority and having won with a huge margin, the party cadres are expecting a cabinet berth for him.
The Manamadurai (Reserve) constituency, from where the DMK had fielded R. Tamilarasi, has won defeating the sitting AIADMK MLA Nagarajan. Initially, the DMK candidate faced issues as the party men claimed that she had an "outsider" tag. However, her non-controversial attitude and approach kept her detractors low-key. Moreover, the AIADMK's candidate had neglected his party men after he became MLA in 2016.
In Sivaganga, the AIADMK's district secretary Mr. Senthilnathan has won defeating CPI's Gunasekaran. The Communist candidate, who was popular in the constituency, had been an MLA earlier. He was confident of a win. However, the approach of Mr Senthilnathan won the support of all the groups in the party and everyone, including Mr. Baskaran, worked hard, poll-watchers said.
