CHENNAI: The PMK, part of the AIADMK-led alliance, will combat the heat of the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ in all seven constituencies it is contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu. In six of the constituencies, the DMK is fielding its own candidates. In Villupuram, the candidate of the DMK’s ally VCK will be contesting, but on the DMK’s legendary symbol.
This is the first time that the PMK will take on the DMK in all constituencies it is contesting. All seven constituencies fall in the northern region of the state where the PMK is traditionally considered as strong.
However, political observers point out that in 2009 when PMK had allied with the AIADMK and contested in six seats in this region, it lost all seats. Of these six, in five the party was contesting against the DMK.
The first time the PMK allied with the Dravidian parties in the Lok Sabha polls was in 1998. In this election, it contested five seats as part of the AIADMK-led alliance. Two of the three seats it won in a battle against the DMK were Vellore and Chidambaram. In the subsequent parliamentary polls in 1999 and 2004, the PMK switched over to the DMK-led alliance. When it changed to the AIADMK-led alliance in 2009 and contested six seats, it lost all.
In 2014, the PMK joined the BJP-led alliance and opposed both DMK-led and AIADMK-led alliances. In the backdrop of the controversy over the Illavarasan-Divya intercaste marriage, the PMK won the Dharmapuri constituency. It lost all other seven constituencies it had contested.