The Hindu : Shock to Tiruchi BJP, Thirunavukkarasar supporters

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Shock to Tiruchi BJP, Thirunavukkarasar supporters

By Syed Muthahar

TIRUCHI, FEB.18. The denial of the Tiruchi and Pudukottai Lok Sabha seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the AIADMK alliance has come as a disappointment to its cadres in the central districts. The BJP was pinning hopes on these constituencies, perceived as its stronghold.

The BJP established a base here after the Union Minister, the late Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, trounced the local strongman, L. Adaikalaraj, in the 1998 and 1999 elections.

Though the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam wrested the seat in the by-election held after his demise in 2001, the BJP has largely retained its hold.

The BJP workers were confident of getting the Tiruchi seat with the party leader, Sukumaran Nambiar, who was said to be enjoying good rapport with the AIADMK supremo, Jayalalithaa, having been tipped to contest from here. Their hopes soared high, when in the rival DPA camp, Tiruchi was allotted to the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is not strong here. Senior BJP leaders were repeatedly assuring the anxious cadres that Tiruchi was on top in the list of the constituencies the party sought.

``Even when negotiations were in progress, we were told that everything was moving smoothly as far as Tiruchi was concerned. But the news of denial of the seat has shocked every party supporter,'' said a senior district functionary. The BJP men had even started campaigning for Mr. Nambiar in some areas.

Supporters of the Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, S. Thirunavukkarasar, have also been shell-shocked at the denial of the Pudukottai constituency to their leader. The seat was another definite bet for the BJP, thanks to his personal rapport with the voters. Mr. Thirunavukkarasar was elected for 6 times in a row from the Aranthangi Assembly segment in the Lok Sabha constituency.

Mr. Thirunavukkarasar, who for the first time contested the Pudukottai Lok Sabha seat in 1998 as an MGR-ADMK candidate, was pushed to the third place behind the AIADMK and DMK nominees, despite his garnering 2.57 lakh votes. In the 1999 elections, the MGR-ADMK was in the DMK-BJP alliance and Mr. Thirunavukkarasar romped home.

Even though rumours were agog that the AIADMK would not allot this seat to the BJP this time, the BJP volunteers were hopeful that the Central leadership would manage to persuade Ms. Jayalalithaa and clinch the seat for the party at any cost.

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