TN to witness five-corner contest as Left parties announce candidates for bypolls
The October 6 by-polls in Tamil Nadu will witness an interesting five-corner contest, with the Left parties announcing their candidates for Madurantakam and Dharapuram Assembly constituencies on Tuesday.
The decision of CPI and CPI(M) has transformed the poll battle into a high-stakes, keenly watched contest. They will lock horns with their erstwhile ally - the DMK - and the ruling TVK dispensation, to whom the parties are extending external support. Interestingly, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has named former legislators Maragatham Kumaravel and P Sathyabama, who defected from the AIADMK days after the Assembly election results were announced in May, and joined the TVK. What makes the battle for the ballot more interesting is the CPI and CPI (M) breaking ranks to contest independently against the TVK, DMK and AIADMK in two constituencies reserved for SC, to test their strength.
The CPI (M) and CPI announced they would contest as an independent Left front, breaking away from traditional electoral coalitions, placing them in direct opposition to both the DMK and TVK.
Both the Left parties have fielded a candidate each to the two seats. While the CPI(M) has named P Suganthi for the Madurantakam (SC) seat, the CPI nominated Lakshmanan for Dharapuram (SC) constituency.
The presence of actor-politician Seeman's Naam Tamilar Katchi candidates K Janaki Raman in Madurantakam and M Karthika in Dharapuram makes the contest a five-cornered one.
Left leaders have stated that the decision to contest independently stems from a desire to demonstrate their electoral strength at the grassroots. They also cited strong reservations over the ruling TVK's choice of candidates, especially two former AIADMK legislators who shifted loyalties to the TVK on the day they quit the Dravidian major. The DMK has nominated I Paranthaman (Madurantakam) and S Suganya (Dharapuram) while the AIADMK, heading the NDA, has already announced an all-women line-up featuring former MLA Kanitha Sampath, who previously represented the constituency from 2011 to 2016, for Madurantakam, and K Bhanumathi for Dharapuram.
AIADMK leader Agri Krishnamurthy exuded confidence that his party would win the by-elections hands down, arguing that electoral victory was primarily due to the AIADMK party symbol, rather than personal popularity of the candidates.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami held a meeting of party functionaries ahead of the upcoming by-elections to finalise election campaign strategies and coordination with alliance party leaders to secure a win, a source said.
