COIMBATORE: Arch rivals Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) are set to clash in eight of the 14 Assembly constituencies in the district that has seen fortune favouring the rival camps alternately between the years 1989 and 2001.

The district has a voter strength of 34,40,330 (men: 17,20,768, women: 17,19,562). It is the industrial capital of the State with booming textile and engineering sectors. Pollachi and Mettupalayam are predominantly agrarian, the former known for its coir industry.

Coimbatore's political set-up is as diverse as its economy. Though western Tamil Nadu is considered an AIADMK bastion since inception, the district has had considerable presence of the DMK, the Congress and the Left. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too registered its presence with its massive win in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections and the snap polls in 1999.

The DMK will take on the AIADMK in all the eight seats it contests. The AIADMK will face the electorate from 10 constituencies. Its candidates are pitted against those of the Congress and the Communist Party of India (CPI) in two other seats.

Of the remaining four, the AIADMK has allocated two seats to the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and one each to the Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) and the INTUC-TN that are its allies under the Democratic People's Alliance.

Besides the DMK, the other parties contesting in Coimbatore as part of the Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) are the Congress (3), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (2) and the CPI (1). The arch rivals will face each other in Coimbatore East, Mettupalayam, Perur, Pollachi, Kinathukadavu, Udumalpet, Palladam and Pongalur.

The CPI will clash with the AIADMK in the reserved constituency of Avanashi. The Dalit Panthers of India is pitted against Congress in Valparai. The Congress and the BJP are yet to announce their candidates.

While a fascinating battle is expected, the last two Assembly elections - 1996 and 2001 - saw a huge swing in fortune of the rival camps. In 1996, the DMK front won all the 14 seats, including two won by its ally, the erstwhile Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), and one by the CPI. The AIADMK did not win even one seat in what was attributed to State-wide anti-establishment wave.

In 2001, the AIADMK alliance swept to power, leaving nothing for the DMK and its ally BJP. The AIADMK won all the nine seats it contested while the remaining five went to its allies: the CPI(M), the Congress and the TMC. The TMC and the CPI(M) had allied with the AIADMK after parting ways with the DMK over its alliance with BJP.

In 1991, the AIADMK bagged 11 out of the 14 seats and its ally, the Congress, mopped up the other three. The elections were held on the heels of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

In 1989, the DMK won six seats, its ally, CPI(M), three, Congress two and the AIADMK (Jayalalithaa) three. The AIADMK (Janaki) lost in all the 11 seats it contested.

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