KARUR: And interesting constituency to watch this Assembly elections would be Karur, where DMK’s V Senthil Balaji is likely to lock horns with Transport Minister MR Vijayabaskar. Both these politicians once worked together in AIADMK. Now, they have started fieldwork to defeat each other, though their respective parties are yet to announce candidates.
Though Senthil Balaji is currently elected from Aravakurichi constituency, this time he is understood to be contesting from Karur. He has already represented this segment twice in the past — in 2006 and 2011. Balaji was stripped off his posts when he moved to the TTV Dhinakaran camp, after which he joined DMK and won the by-elections from Aravakurichi.
Vijayabaskar, who is the district secretary of AIADMK in Karur, is gearing up to face the second election of his political career. Vijayabaskar earlier won from Karur in 2016 on a slender margin of 441 votes. Known for their rivalry even while they were in the same party,
Senthil Balaji and Vijayabaskar are likely to directly go against each other in the 2021 polls, which makes it more exciting for their supporters. AIADMK has won the Karur seat three times since 2006. While the Opposition had fielded Congress representatives here in the past, this time DMK is likely to retain it.