VILLUPURAM: When the ECI announced the Vikravandi by-election on June 10, not many had reservations about the final verdict. Riding pillion on a 40 out of 40 victory in the Lok Sabha polls just a week ago, the DMK was entering a fray that habitually favoured the ruling party. The principal opposition party even decided to boycott the election. The deal was done and dusted. But, as they say, a week is a long time in politics.
With just two days left for the electorate to reach booths, the DMK arguably finds itself on the backfoot owing to the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy that claimed 65 lives. Even the AIADMK might be regretting its decision to sit it out. The regret might hit home hard since one of the party’s strongmen, C Ve Shanmugam, hails from the district, which was once a bastion of the party.
On Friday, Chief Minister M K Stalin released a video appealing to the voters to support the DMK. When the whole state thought that the CM would paint the town red as is usually the case with ruling parties during bypoll campaigns, Stalin had to make do with a measly four-minute video. Sources said he decided not to visit Vikravandi for campaigning fearing questions as to why he couldn’t find time to visit nearby Kallakurichi district’s Karunapuram, where the funeral dust has not yet settled in almost every street.
Vikravandi, a small rural taluk in Villupuram district is going for its second by-election in the last five years, in addition to the Assembly election in 2021. The constituency was declared vacant after DMK MLA N Pugazhendi passed away on April 5. There were shockers galore right after the ECI notified the bypoll. If the AIADMK relinquishing the opportunity raised eyebrows, the PMK, which advocates that the ruling party should always appoint another legislator to the vacant seat for the smooth continuance of governance, jumping into the fray surprised many.
The region being a Vanniyar belt and the party now nestled comfortably in the NDA alliance, apparently forced the PMK to walk back on its policy decision concerning bypolls. C Anbumani is the party’s candidate. Meanwhile, the DMK announced Anniyur Siva, whom party sources say has massive influence among local public. As always, the NTK too was not late to the party. Seeman’s party fielded Dr P Abinaya. Though she is a relative of the DMK candidate, she pulled no punches while tearing into the DMK during campaign.
The DMK ministers and functionaries have been hitting the streets hard in the last few days with a long list of welfare schemes introduced by the state government, which supposedly even echoed recently in the UK. Staunch AIADMK patrons would vote for the DMK this time as the Dravidian majors have found a common enemy in the BJP, said N Boopalan (45), an advocate from Vikravandi. “Some youth might fancy the NTK as the party champions itself as an alternative to the Dravidian politics,” he added. This is also the NTK’s first election after attaining the state-recognised party status.
Leaving no stone unturned, over 1,000 NTK functionaries have turned up for campaigning. Their stay has been arranged in four marriage halls. During one of her speeches, Abinaya told the voters, “I heard that my rivals are giving Rs 5,000 for each vote in one area. So, if they come to you with Rs 500 or Rs 1,000, don’t budge. Demand thousands, and cast your die against them. Vote for NTK, or else, hell will befall us.”
Meanwhile, the PMK has been wringing the Kallakurichi tragedy at every function to steal a march on the DMK. Unfazed by the allegations, a confident Siva told TNIE, “The DMK government promptly reacted to the hooch tragedy. The voters know that and they will surely vote for the party. There is not one person in Vikravandi who has not benefitted from me in one way or the other.”
With two more days left for the by-election, the extra aggressive campaigns by all three parties belie their respective tall claim of a landslide win.
(With inputs from S Kumaresan @ Chennai)