Faction fight forced AIADMK to cede Cuddalore to PMK?

Cuddalore: Infighting in the Cuddalore district units (east and west) of the AIADMK drove the ruling party to cede the Cuddalore parliamentary constituency in the district to ally PMK. Sitting AIADMK MP A Arunmozhidevan had won the seat with a record margin of more than two lakh votes in the last parliamentary polls.

The district has been witnessing frequent power tussle between Arunmozhidevan and minister M C Sampath over multiple issues. The tussle intensified after the death of former chief minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa in 2016 and touched an all-time low in the last few months.

There were instances of the MPs and MLAs of the ruling party boycotting the government functions presided by Sampath in the last two years.

The pro-MP members openly accused the minister of attempting to sideline them and ignore their suggestions on several issues, including new recruitment, transfers and postings of officials and award of contracts among others.

They charged that the minister accorded priority to his family and relatives over elected representatives and party functionaries. They had even raised the issue on the floor of the assembly.

The two Dravidian parties — DMK and AIADMK — have a strong base in the district, which comprises nine assembly segments (six constituencies come under Cuddalore parliamentary constituency while three others in Chidambaram parliamentary constituency).

The DMK and the AIADMK won three assembly constituencies each in the Cuddalore parliamentary constituency in the 2016 assembly polls displaying equal strength.

Vridhachalam AIADMK MLA V T Kalaiselvan had openly pledged his support to AMMK deputy general secretary T T V Dhinakaran leading to a minor setback to the AIADMK in the region.

The PMK was content to get Cuddalore Lok Sabha seat under the alliance headed by the AIADMK. The party has a considerable base in the region and the PMK leaders were optimistic that their candidate R Govindasamy will taste success in the ensuing polls with the support of the AIADMK and the DMDK. DMDK founder-leader Vijayakant was elected from Vridhachalam assembly constituency (coming under Cuddalore parliamentary constituency) in 2006 and the DMDK bagged two assembly seats — Panruti and Vridhachalam — in the 2011 assembly polls indicating substantial support for the actor-turned-politician’s party.

The PMK strongly believes that the alliance mathematics will work in its favour while the DMK, which fielded T R V S Sri Ramesh as the candidate from Cuddalore, will attempt to rekindle the anti-state and anti-Centre mood of the neutral voters to tilt the balance in its favour.