VELLORE: In its bid to mop up Vellore constituency that is going to polls on August 5, DMK is leaving no stone unturned to keep its Muslim vote bank intact. The Muslims account for about 3 lakh in Vellore Lok Sabha constituency which has a total electorate of 14.32 lakh, dominating the scene in two assembly segments – Ambur and Vaniyambadi.
The churning in the political situation after the April elections and resentment among a section of minorities, particularly Muslims, against the DMK for supporting the NIA Amendment Bill in the Parliament have seemingly sent shivers down the spine for the party leadership. AIADMK is hoping to capitalise on it.
“It is apparent that the situation has largely changed from what prevailed in April. Muslims are well aware of prevailing conditions and will definitely vote for me because most of them want to vote for development,” said AC Shanmugam, the AIADMK candidate.Political observers see actor Seeman-led Naam Tamilar Katchi, besides AIADMK, to cut through DMK’s minority vote bank.
Talking to Express, political analyst Ravindran Duraisamy said, “There are chances for Muslim votes to split. The AIADMK and NTK will cut through the DMK’s vote bank.”Considerable number of resenting Muslims may opt for NTK like TTV Dhinakaran had done in RK Nagar elections, Ravindran said.
“What we thought of doing in the April general elections had not happened. We could not stop them from coming back at the Centre. So, a section will choose to be positive to elect a candidate from the ruling combine,” said T Bashiruddin of Pernambut, a voter.
Anxiety in the DMK camp is so much that party president MK Stalin rushed to Muslim dominated areas on Thursday to woo the voters. He had an indoor meeting at a giant business establishment at Ambur, the hub of leather-based industry, to reassure the Muslim community voters that his party would stand by them forever. He recalled the bondage between his party and Muslims rewinding memories to the alliance party founder and later leader CN Annadurai forged with late leader Quaid E Millet in 1967.
Later, Stalin held another meeting with the community’s leaders and clerics in the town to ensure that the votes do not split. However, DMK leaders here seem to be unperturbed by the developments believing to garner Muslim votes without any split.