Chidambaram himself managed to scrape through a controversial election in 2009 which is still under scrutiny
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s decision to pass on the mantle to his son Karti in Sivaganga has come at a time when the Congress faces one of its toughest electoral battles.
Chidambaram had himself managed to just scrape through in a controversial election in 2009, one that is still under legal scrutiny, despite having the DMK’s backing. This time around when there is the likelihood of a four-cornered battle involving both the AIADMK and DMK besides the BJP-led alliance and the new entrant AAP, the Congress is sans any ally making it a Herculean task for Karti to make it through in his electoral debut from his powerful father’s constituency.
Raja Kannappan, the AIADMK candidate who lost to Chidambaram in the 2009 election by a whisker had filed an election petition in Madras High Court and it is in the last stage of the cross examination. “The charges levelled by Kannappan in the petition are so grievous and if found true Chidambaram may even face debar from contesting elections,” said Saravana Kumar, lawyer representing Raja Kannappan.
What does not meet the eye is the fact that Chidambaram, who won the 2004 election from Sivaganga by a margin of 2,66,815 votes (60 per cent), just scraped through by 3,354 votes in 2009 election and that too under a controversial situation. The self-styled economist finished a poor third behind BJP’s H Raja in the 1999 election proving that he is not invincible in his home town. Though Chidambaram (68) claims he is giving way to the youth, his colleague in the party Mani Shankar Aiyer (73), who is also a Rajya Sabha member, has taken the plunge and is fighting the 2014 election from nearby Myladuthurai knowing quite well that he would not win.
Even the Grand Alliance led by the DMK could not make the sailing smooth for Chidambaram in 2009. Now, the Congress has become Tamil Nadu’s new political untouchables. While the DMK, which leads an alliance of all communal parties like VCK, Muslim league, MMK and the PT, has fielded S Durairaj, the AIADMK has introduced PR Senthil Nathan, a lawyer by profession. The NDA led by BJP has brought in the old warhorse H Raja, a chartered accountant.
It may be noted that Chidambaram took the decision not to contest only after the formal announcement by BJP chief Rajnath Singh about the formation of the NDA in Tamil Nadu. The formation of the NDA which includes the DMDK, the PMK, the MDMK and two other smaller parties has changed the dynamics of Sivaganga.
It is going to be an uphill task for Chidambaram and the Congress in spite of the fact that the Union Finance Minister has seen to it that all major banks in the country have branches opened in his constituency during the last three years. If the number of voters turned up to listen to Chidambaram at Sivaganga is any indication, the chances of Karthi making it to New Delhi look bleak.
Chidambaram, who belongs to the Nattukotta Chettiyar community (who has strong business acumen) is aware of the strong anti-Congress wave in the country in general (a senior central Government official based in Chennai himself told this newspaper on Friday that the Congress would explode like an eight-stage dynamite in Tamil Nadu itself) and Tamil Nadu in particular. The resentment has a lot to do with the failure of the UPA Government to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board for the smooth allocation of the Cauvery water between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The continued attack on Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri lankan Navy and the failure of the Congress Government to resolve the issue too has antagonised the voters in Sivaganga.
Jayalalithaa, who campaigned at Sivaganga on Friday unleashed a no-holds barred attack against the union finance minister. She was at vitriolic best and slammed him for taking away the financial rights and autonomy of the States. She also pointed out the unprecedented hike in the price of essential commodities during the tenure of Chidambaram as Finance Minister.