It is the ruling AIADMK which is contesting in the bypoll at the Vikravandi assembly constituency. But the PMK leaders believe the stakes for their party are rather higher in this battle.
Vikravandi is situated in the heart of what is referred as “Vanniyar belt” and PMK draws much of its support from this community which is concentrated in the northern districts of the Tamil Nadu. A victory for its ally AIADMK is a must for PMK to prove that it continues to enjoy the support of the Vanniyar community and hence it deserves better deals in future bargains for poll alliances.
Even before the announcement of the bypoll date, the local AIADMK leaders are said to have paid visits to the leaders of their ally PMK and sought their support. This has put much pressure on the PMK to prove the party’s mettle.
A state-level functionary of the party told Express, “Our leadership too has instructed us that we should ensure a victory for AIADMK as much of our party’s future depends on this. In the last eight years, we did not taste any big victories.”
When PMK contested alone in 2016 Assembly polls with its leader Anbumani Ramadoss as Chief Minister candidate, the party secured around 23 per cent votes at Vikravandi and came as third after DMK and AIADMK. The difference between the runner up AIADMK and PMK was just a few thousand votes.
Now since both the parties are contesting as allies, the cadre believe it will be a cake walk victory for PMK. “Three of the nine seats AIADMK won in the recent bypolls areas (Sholingur, Pappireddipatti & Harur) where our party enjoys much influence. So this seat also we will win it for AIADMK,” a PMK functionary in Villupuram district.
The main talk among the PMK cadre and functionaries is that their party can demand in future a good share of seats in the alliance only if AIADMK wins at Vikravandi. Otherwise, it may give impression that PMK no longer enjoys support even in its bastion.
A former union minister from the PMK said though the party is not contesting at Vikravandi, the party will form a poll panel to carry out campaigns in Vikravandi in support of the AIADMK candidate.
When asked to comment on it, veteran political analyst Raveenthran Duraisamy said PMK leaders may be reading too much into it. “In Tamil Nadu, the ruling parties easily get 10 to 15 per cent more votes in the bypolls. So AIADMK can win DMK on its own strength. AIADMK’s victory can at least keep the morale of PMK cadre high,” he said.