CHENNAI: It was the most obvious yet the most surprising choice in the DMK list of candidates -- Udhayanidhi Stalin contesting from Chepauk, a constituency represented by his grandfather and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi. It was an obvious because, well, DMK is quite unpopular for its dynastic politics. Yet, it was surprising because rumours had it that Udhaya may be denied a seat, for now, to dodge barbs of DMK being a family-run party. The plan was to instead reserve the Chennai Mayor post for the scion.
What changed? Why was a ticket granted now? Sources say the development indicates that the party is in a rush to propel him into the Assembly. “The family wants him to be in the Assembly and observe his father’s administration first-hand,” said sources. Earlier, Udhayanidhi himself stated in public that his father had asked him to not to enter the fray and launch a State-wide campaign instead. This was also perceived by some as an attempt to gather sympathy from party cadre.
“It would be a mistake to not use the current scenario to help Udhayanidhi reach the Assembly,” said the sources. “This became all the more important after the AIADMK combine allotted the Chepauk seat to a PMK candidate. It would be a cakewalk to victory for Udhaya...” Of the three times that Karunanidhi represented Chepauk, he became the Chief Minister twice. The seat, hence, is considered lucky by the family. Not just Chepauk, DMK is looking to win over its bastion that was the Chennai city, which now has been lost to AIADMK.
As a result, it is contesting in 15 of the 16 segments that fall in the city. Among these, it will face AIADMK directly in 10 seats. While 13 constituencies in the city show a strong anti-incumbency in voting patterns for every five years, DMK has not been able to win in three constituencies for at least 20 years - Royapuram, RK Nagar, and Mylapore. In all these three constituencies, DMK last won only in 1996 and it has ever since remained an AIADMK strong-hold.
The DMK candidate had lost deposit during the RK Nagar bypoll while in Royapuram, the party gave seat to Congress for the last two elections. To counter the popularity of Minister D Jayakumar, DMK in a surprise move has fielded ‘iDream’ Murthy, a businessman, who owns the popular iDreams theatre in North Chennai, which is preferred by families. “Never before DMK showed interest in this constituency. It was given away to Congress twice before, which lost it on both counts. No local DMK leader was nurtured here. This time, we have a chance to rebuild our local base here,” says a local cadre.
Similarly, the DMK did not have a popular candidate in RK Nagar as well. Now they have fielded the party’s North Chennai youth wing organizer JJ Ebenezer against AIADMK’s RS Rajesh, who unsuccessfully contested the Perambur by-poll in 2019. DMK’s North Chennai District Incharge, Ilaya Aruna, said that the party will bounce back and reclaim the constituencies from AIADMK. In Mylapore, the party has fielded ‘Mylai’ Velu against AIADMK’s incumbent MLA Natraj. Local cadre said that Velu was born and brought up in the constituency and he did a lot of social service during the pandemic. “He will get vote from all sections,” said the functionary.
The DMK has allotted 10 seats to members hailing from minority communities. They are S Austin (Kanyakumari), M Abdul Vahab(Palayamkottai), Geetha Jeevan (Thoothukudi), Kadhar Batcha (Ramanathapuram), Stalin Kumar (Thuraiyur), Inigo Irudhayaraj (Trichy-East), SM Nasar (Avadi), Joseph Samuel ( Ambattur), Jeeva Stalin (Attur(Rese), and JJ Ebinesar (RK Nagar). DMK had faced widespread criticism for not giving enough seats to minorities in Lok Sabha elections.
10 candidates from minority communities in list
The DMK has allotted 10 Assembly seats to members hailing from minority communities. They are S Austin (Kanyakumari), M Abdul Vahab(Palayamkottai), Geetha Jeevan (Thoothukudi), Kadhar Batcha (Ramanathapuram), Stalin Kumar (Thuraiyur), Inigo Irudhayaraj (Trichy-East), SM Nasar (Avadi), Joseph Samuel ( Ambattur), Jeeva Stalin (Attur(Rese), and JJ Ebinesar (RK Nagar). The Dravidian major had faced widespread criticism for not giving enough seats to minorities
in Lok Sabha elections.
(With inputs from Aadhithya MS @ Tiruchy)