Confusing alignments in southern districts

By S. Annamalai

MADURAI, OCT 3. With the filing of nominations for the local bodies elections over, the political shades are fading. And the grassroots workers have started affirming that agreements signed in Chennai are not sacrosanct.

As local issues come into play, the political alignments in the southern districts in the run-up to the elections project a confusing picture. Multicornered contests are emerging in places where it was originally believed that only two or three players would be in the fray. There is dissension and resentment in the ranks over the choice of candidates. In the process, the major fronts, led by the AIADMK and the DMK, have suffered equal losses. The emergence of the Congress-led front has sharpened the contest.

A major change in the scenario is the withdrawal of the CPI(M), the Congress and the PMK from the secular front led by the AIADMK. The three were AIADMK allies in the Assembly elections. Though the PMK is a minor player in this region, the decision of the CPI(M) to go it alone is bound to have a definite impact, especially in the Madurai Mayor election. The formation of a third front led by the Congress has already started causing concern in the ruling party.

The presence of Mr. P. Chidambaram, who hails from Sivaganga district, has lent credibility to this formation in urban areas. The Janata Dal (Secular) has also fielded its candidate in Madurai. Though its candidate may not make a significant foray into the AIADMK votebank, he is capable of garnering a few thousand votes. The DMK front has also had its dose of shock. Its allies, PMK and the MGR Kazhagam, have fielded their nominees against the DMK for Madurai Mayor. The PMK has subsequently announced its decision to withdraw its candidate but the MGR Kazhagam is yet to make known its intentions. It also remains to be seen whether the coming together of different groups in the DMK in the wake of Mr. M. Karunanidhi's arrest will hold good even now.

The Congress front presents an unusually cohesive picture. All factions seem to have come together to project a unified front. In Madurai, where there is a parallel DCC set-up, the factions have closed ranks. However, in Dindigul, two party candidates have filed nominations for municipal chairman.

The confusion in the alliance arrangement seems more an urban phenomenon. In rural areas, party loyalties have given place to personal relationships. The caste factor is dominant in the rural areas and here the nomination of Mr. O. Paneerselvam, a Mukkulathor, as Chief Minister, is expected to have an impact on the pattern of voting in the Mukkulathor and Dalit-dominated areas. The consolidation of the Mukkulathor votes in favour of the AIADMK is an eagerly awaited happening. When the DMK candidate for Usilampatti municipal chairman, a Mukkulathor, filed his papers, most of those who accompanied him were AIADMK men. As local issues decide the electoral outcome, the term `people's mandate' is bound to assume a new meaning.

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Section  : Southern States
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