While the police and the electorates were anticipating a boisterous and unruly election campaign in the highly volatile Tirunelveli and Tenkasi (Reserved) parliamentary constituencies with the key political parties treating this as an all-important election, the electioneering came to an end on Wednesday evening without any unlawful and violent incidents.
Unlike previous Parliamentary elections, the Tirunelveli and Tenkasi Parliamentary constituencies witnessed brisk electioneering by VVIPs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, BJP national president J.P. Nadda, Naam Thamizhar Katchi coordinator Seeman and others.
The DMK high command, having suffered backstabbing during elections in the past, had deployed Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu in Tirunelveli segment for coordinating the election-related works among the allies of DMK-led alliance and the election campaign. Revenue Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran was in-charge of these works in neighbouring Tenkasi district. Even though his elder sister Thamizhachi Thangapandian is taking on BJP’s Tamilisai Soundararajan and AIADMK’s J. Jayavardhan in South Chennai, Mr. Thangam Thennarasu camped in Tirunelveli to link the gaps in the electioneering by Congress candidate C. Robert Bruce.
After sensing that BJP candidate for Tirunelveli segment Nainar Nagenthiran could get the support of Hindu Nadar votes even though the national party’s candidate belonged to Thevar community, the DMK high command rushed in Fisheries Minister Anita R. Radhakrishnan from Thoothukudi, who campaigned only in the villages where the Hindu Nadars live in large numbers. Besides campaigning in these hamlets, he, in a bid to divert these votes in favour of Mr. Robert Bruce, also met influential Hindu Nadar leaders and leaders of their youth wings, who were keen on backing BJP this time.
Mr. Nainar Nagenthiran had embarrassing moments after three of his employees were picked-up by a flying squad at Tambaram Railway Station with ₹4 crore in cash and they reportedly confessed that they were taking the money to Tirunelveli to meet the election expenses of their employer. Mr. Nagenthiran has been asked to appear before the investigators after the end of the election in this connection.
Notwithstanding this embarrassment and intra-party squabbles, Mr. Nainar Nagenthiran’s electioneering was running like well-oiled machine right from the beginning while such a brisk election campaign could not be seen on the Congress’s side till the end of electioneering at 6 p.m. on Wednesday due to the gap between the ‘imported candidate’ and the local Congress functionaries. Even the local Congress office-bearers of Nanguneri Assembly constituency dashed-off a letter of dissent to TNCC president K. Selvaperunthagai, who chose to downplay it.
The lackluster electioneering of the Congress candidate came to an end on the East Car Street in Tirunelveli Town while Mr. Nagenthiran wound-up the campaign at Vaagaiyadi Corner, also in Tirunelveli Town.
Cash-starved AIADMK candidate for Tirunelveli constituency M. Jancy Rani, who started her election campaign from the Vinayagar Temple on the northeast corner of North Car Street in Tirunelveli Town, concluded her election campaign at the same point on Wednesday evening.
The police personnel took-out flag march from Tirunelveli Town arch at 7 p.m. to instill confidence in the minds of the voters that the police force would ensure free and fair elections and to encourage the electorate to come in large number for casting their votes.
Since Dalit leaders K. Krishnasamy of Puthiya Thamizhagam and B. John Pandian of Thamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, who do not enjoy cordial relationship, are in the fray as candidates of the AIADMK and the BJP respectively, the police had sleepless nights ever since they were fielded as candidates. They feared that any spark during electioneering between the two groups would go out of control and hence special steps were taken to monitor the movements of the supporters of both the candidates almost round-the-clock.
AIADMK candidate for Tenkasi Parliamentary segment K. Krishnasamy, who started his campaign in Tenkasi Assembly segment on Wednesday morning, ended the electioneering at Srivilliputhur bus-stand at 6 p.m. after traversing all other Assembly constituencies viz. Kadayanallur, Vasudevanallur, Sanakarankovil and Rajapalayam where bike rallies were organized to mobilize support for him.
On the other hand, Mr. John Pandian completed his election campaign at Tenkasi after starting the exercise on Wednesday morning in Srivilliputhur.
The election campaign of DMK candidate for this segment Rani Srikumar, an anaesthetist, that lacked coordination even among the DMK office-bearers, ended at Rajapalayam.
