CHENNAI: Outcome of the polls in two Assembly segments and the by-election to the lone constituency has left a sour taste behind for the DMK, which conceded Aravakurichi to its arch rival AIADMK. Sitting MLA and sand mining baron K C Palanisamy lost to AIADMK’s former Transport Minister V Senthil Balaji by a margin of 23,661 votes.
The elections turned into a high-profile one as this constituency in Karur district, along with Thanjavur, earned the notoriety of being countermanded following largescale violations of poll code, including massive distribution of cash to voters in the run-up to general elections in May this year.
Since 1971, both the AIADMK and DMK have won the seat four times each. In 2011, DMK veteran Palanisamy defeated his nearest rival V Senthilnathan of AIADMK by a slender margin of 4,541 votes. However, this time around luck smiled on his rival Senthil Balaji, who has understandably saved his political career from being pushed into the wilderness by this much needed win, according to political observers.
The most embarrassing defeat to the DMK has come in Thanjavur, where the party had fancied some chances.
The party fielded Dr Anjugam, daughter of DMK’s senior leader Bhoopathi, in the constituency, where seasoned leaders, including former Union Ministers T R Balu, S S Palanimanickam and former state minister K N Nehru, were drafted as poll managers.
The party also exploited the plight of the farmers in the delta region. “We tried our best in Thanjavur, highlighting the agrarian crisis. But our strategy failed to yield the desired results,” said a senior DMK leader.
Anjugam, who relinquished her government job to enter the fray, lost by a margin of 26,874 votes.
Similarly, DMK candidate in Tirupparankundram Dr P Saravanan, who was earlier caught in irregularities in connection with stents, conceded defeat by a margin of 42,670 votes to his AIADMK rival AK Bose. The fact was that local partymen, apparently disenchanted with the top leadership’s decision to field Saravanan, had gone against him.
In an attempt to gloss over the electoral loss, DMK treasurer M K Stalin, who led the poll campaign, said his party would continue its public service ignoring the outcome of the elections. “As far as the DMK is concerned, we will carry on with our democratic duties without bothering about the results of the elections,” he told reporters. He also blamed it on the “highhandedness of the ruling party” and violations indulged in by the ministers as well as the failure of the Election Commission to check cash distribution.
The only solace DMK can draw is from the resounding win in Nellithope by its ally, Congress, whose candidate V Narayanasamy romped home comfortably.