Chennai, Oct 6:
Polling was brisk in the by-elections to the Madurantakam and Dharapuram Reserved Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, with voters turning up in large numbers from the morning amid tight security.
The bypolls, which are witnessing a tough five-cornered contest, are being seen as a referendum on the nearly five-month-old nascent TVK government headed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay.
A large number of people turned up very early as polling began at 0700 hrs in 605 booths in both the constituencies. A total of 285 polling stations have been established in Madurantakam and 320 polling stations in Dharapuram.
An estimated 4.35 lakh voters — 2.13 lakh in Madurantakam and 2.23 lakh in Dharapuram — are expected to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 49 candidates (32 men, 17 women) in the two seats, which fell vacant following the resignation of rebel AIADMK MLAs, leading to the bypolls. While there are 27 candidates in Madurantakam (15 men, 12 women), a total of 22 candidates are contesting in Dharapuram (17 men, 5 women).
Those in the race are candidates of the ruling TVK, which had expectedly fielded turncoats Ms. K. Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam) and Ms. P. Sathyabama (Dharapuram), amid criticism from the opposition parties and the supporting Left parties. Both had held the respective seats before relinquishing their posts, quitting the AIADMK and joining the TVK.
Apart from Maragatham Kumaravel, DMK’s I. Paranthaman, former MLA Ms. Kanitha Sampath of AIADMK, Ms. P. Suganthi of CPI-M and Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK)’s K. Janakiraman are in the fray in Madurantakam, while Sathyabama (TVK), Ms. S. Suganya (DMK), AIADMK’s Ms. K. Bhanumathi, P. Lakshmanan of CPI and NTK’s M. Karthika are the main contestants in Dharapuram. The rest were Independents.
Among the early voters was the DMK candidate Suganya in Dharapuram.
The bypoll held within just five months after Chief Minister Vijay formed the government with a stunning performance in the April elections will test the TVK’s governance, which has come under sharp attack for not honouring its key pre-poll promises, including non-waiver of crop loans in toto as promised.
The bypolls are an early acid test for TVK on whether it can consolidate its position further based on Vijay’s charisma and its achievements in the last five months. The outcome of these polls is seen as a forerunner to the bye-elections to the other five vacant seats. With many AIADMK members, including MLAs and former Ministers, having defected and switched loyalties after the April polls, a TVK victory in both Dharapuram and Madurantakam could possibly trigger more exodus from AIADMK towards the ruling dispensation, which would further dent Edappadi K Palaniswami’s image within the AIADMK.
For the AIADMK, retaining the seats — considered as its strongholds — would demonstrate the party’s resilience and give a boost to general secretary Palaniswami, especially in the context of the AIADMK suffering successive poll defeats and searching for answers to this riddle.
Despite all the opposition parties, including the DMK and AIADMK, castigating the government for its failures on multiple fronts, the TVK, which had ploughed a lone furrow in the April polls and scripted history in its maiden electoral foray, that too in a short span of two years after forming the party, was keen to consolidate its position considering the strength of its coalition.
In what could be a referendum on the performance of the Vijay government, the multi-cornered contests in both the seats apparently give an edge to the ruling TVK. Interestingly, this election is the first after the post-poll realignment following the former DMK allies teaming up with the TVK and shoring up the Vijay government. Barring the two Left parties, which extend outside support, the Congress, VCK and IUML have joined the Cabinet and formed the TVK-led Secular Social Justice Vettri Alliance, keeping the Vettri (Victory) tag intact in the TVK. The MDMK of Vaiko, which was the latest to walk out of the DMK Front, is also part of the TVK-led Front, adding strength to the coalition.