The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Will western region remain an AIADMK bastion?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Will western region remain an AIADMK bastion?

G. Satyamurty

It consists of seven districts, including industrialised Coimbatore

Coimbatore: In all the seven Assembly elections that the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) contested so far in Tamil Nadu, western region has been its bastion.

This region consists of seven districts including the highly industrialised Coimbatore, economically well-to-do Erode, the pride of hills the Nilgiris, industrious Salem and Namakkal, fast progressing Krishnagiri and the drought-prone Dharmapuri.

M.G. Ramachandran launched Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (which was later rechristened as AIADMK) in 1972. It tasted its first electoral success in a by-poll.

In 1977, the party made a full-fledged entry into the State election fray. The party tallied 40 of the total 55 seats in the region and secured 130 seats in the 234-member House.

In 1980, after being dismissed by the Indira Gandhi Government, MGR returned to power capturing 129 seats. The western region then contributed once again with 40 seats.

Sympathy wave

Helped by the sympathy wave following the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the ill health of MGR, the AIADMK tallied 34 in 1984 Assembly elections. Its total State tally was 133.

In the annals of the AIADMK, 1989 could be considered the worst period because the party split and contested as two entities — AIADMK (Jayalalitha) and AIADMK (Janaki). Despite such a scenario, AIADMK (Jayalalitha) managed to secure 16 seats in the region as against the total of 27 it won in the Assembly.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which returned to power in the State after a gap of 13 years, was dismissed before long, forcing the State to face one more Assembly elections in 1991.

In the wake of a huge sympathy wave following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the AIADMK-Congress alliance romped home with all the seats in the region. Of that, the AIADMK alone accounted for 44 in its State tally was 164.

The situation turned topsy-turvy in 1996 elections. Due to a very strong anti-incumbency wave, and a formidable alliance sewn up by the DMK in co-ordination with the nascent Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), all that the AIADMK could manage was just one seat in the entire western region. Its candidate P.R. Sundaram scraped through in Rasipuram with a margin of 454 votes. Its total State tally was just four. Even Chief Minister Jayalalithaa lost in that elections from Bargur in this region.

Came 2001 and aided by a very strong alliance involving a number of major political parties, the AIADMK returned to power. Then the AIADMK-led front secured most of the seats in the region and the party individually bagged 35.

All that the DMK could manage was only one seat-Vellakoil, that too thanks to Durai Ramasamy, five-time MLA and a former AIADMK Minister.

As he was denied AIADMK ticket, he contested as an Independent and secured more than 32,000 votes thus helping the DMK defeat AIADMK by a margin of 868 votes.

With many allies in 2001 polls switching over to the opposite camp and assistance from unexpected quarters like the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dalit Panthers of India, it remains to be seen if the AIADMK can hold its ground in this region, which has been its traditional fort.

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