SALEM: Breaking a four-decade-old tradition, Dravidian majors AIADMK and DMK have fielded contestants from outside the Solai Gounder family in Veerapandi. Such is the family’s sway over the electorate that AIADMK or DMK fielded them in 11 out of the 14 Assembly elections held so far in Veerapandi. They have been successful 10 times.
Family tree
Solai Gounder is the father of S Arumugam, the late DMK strongman fondly called as Veerapandiyar. He had two wives. Palaniappan and Kandasamy are the sons of his first wife. Arumugam and Kuppusamy are children of his second wife. Arumugam joined the DMK in 1949, and first contested from Veerapandi in 1962. He contested successfully two more times –1967 and 1972.
He fell out with his elder brother Palaniappan in 1970 following a dispute over sharing property. Palaniappan and his son ‘Poolavari’ Sukumaran were hardcore fans of matinee icon MG Ramachandran and joined the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) in 1972 when the latter parted ways with the DMK. Ever since, the family dispute turned into fierce political rivalry between Arumugam and Palaniappan.
In 1973, Palaniappan and Sukumaran were murdered. AIADMK rode the sympathy wave of the double murder during the by-elections to Dindigul constituency. AIADMK’s candidate Maya Thevar won. MGR fielded Palaniappan’s elder daughter, Vijayalakshmi Palanisamy, in 1980 and 1984. She won both times defeating DMK candidates Srinivasan and Subramaniam.
AIADMK suffered a vertical split after MGR’s demise. S K Selvam, grandson of Solai Gounder and son of Kuppusamy, contested 1989 elections from Veerapandi on Jayalalithaa faction but lost. In 1996, Arumugam won. In 2001, Selvam contested on an AIADMK ticket and defeated Arumugam by 30,000 votes. In 2006 Vijayalakshmi contested but lost to Arumugam’s son A Raja. In 2011, Selvam wrested the constituency back by defeating Raja by 27,000 votes. In 2016, Vijayalakshmi’s sister S Manonmani defeated Raja.
Whiff of fresh air
This time, AIADMK chose a candidate from outside the family. DMK too not give a ticket to the kin of the late DMK strongman. Though Raja and Prabhu sought tickets, the high command fielded Dr A K Tharun (39). He is the son-in-law of Arumugan’s elder son late Chezhiyan alias Nedunchezhiyan.