Bhuvanagiri: AIADMK-backed Independent on good wicket

By M. Balaganessin

CUDDALORE, MAY 3.The fielding of the former Indian Bank chairman, Mr.M. Gopalakrishnan, (Makkal Tamizh Desam), by the NDA has come in handy for the AIADMK-backed Independent, Mr.P.S. Arul, in the Bhuvanagiri constituency.

A visit to a number of villages revealed that people were sore over ``non-nursing of the constituency for many years''.

A villager from Kummudimoolai said even Dalits supported Mr. Arul.

Besides the electorate, even Mr. Arul did not expect what is being described as his ``political fortune'' of being supported by the AIADMK, until the rejection of the nominations of the party chief, Ms. Jayalalitha, (on the ground that she had sought election from more that two constituencies) and the official candidate, Mr. Karunanidhi (as he had failed to submit the requisite forms A and B issued by the party).

Villagers pointed out that Mr. Arul was more ``accessible and amenable''. A cross-section of Dalits said Mr. Gopalakrishnan was an ``outsider''. The voters had doubts over his being accessible. They said they had suffered having selected a stranger and attributed it to some wave or the other. In the absence of any major issue, the voters appear to be wary of electing a candidate capable of nursing the constituency well.

The MDMK has fielded Mr.A.N. Gunasekaran, but the voters pointed out that the fight was only between the NDA and the AIADMK-backed candidate, the latter having an edge over the former.

According to sources in the NDA, the constituency accounts for 15,000 voters belonging to the ``Yadhava'' community. Mr. Gopalakrishnan said even before his political debut, his aim was to uplift his community through the ``Yadhava Mahajana Sabha''.

He was confident of wooing the voters through DMK cadres. The DMK chief,Mr.M. Karunanidhi, while canvassing votes in Bhuvanagiri, had to adopt a ``level-playing strategy'' without using the name of the DPI founder, Mr.R. Thirumavalavan.

In the last election, the PMK lost the seat to the DMK. The PMK nominee secured 30,112 votes and the AIADMK nominee 27,904 votes, while the DMK candidate secured 49,457 votes.

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Section  : State Elections
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