TIRUCHI: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has made impressive gains in the 2006 Assembly elections in the central region spread over seven revenue districts.

The DMK led Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) bagged 31 seats in the region: DMK - 20, Congress - 5, CPI - 4, CPI(M) - 1 and PMK - 1. Of the 12 seats wrested by AIADMK, five were in Thanjavur, two each in Pudukottai, Perambalur and Tiruchi districts, and one in Karur.

Here is the district-wise performance of the DMK-led front: Tiruchi 7 of the 9 seats (DMK 6, Congress 1), Thanjavur 5 (DMK 4, Congress 1), Nagapattinam 6 (DMK 3, CPI-M, Congress and PMK, one each), Tiruvarur 4 (DMK 1, CPI 3), Pudukottai 3 (DMK, Congress, and the CPI - one each), Karur 3 (DMK 2, IUML 1), Perambalur 3 (DMK 2, Congress 1).

In the 2001 elections, the DMK had won only seven seats from this region, compared to the AIADMK's 26. The performance of the DMK front in Tiruchi district by winning seven seats has brought cheers to the party cadres. The AIADMK which had six representatives in the last Assembly, managed to retain only two seats — Marungapuri and Srirangam.

The former DMK Minister, K.N. Nehru, and the former district secretary, N. Selvaraj, were among the party's notable winners. The prominent losers were N. Mariampitchai (AIDMK), A. Malarmannan and Natarajan (both MDMK).

The DMK-led front made a clean sweep in Nagapattinam district, with DMK winning Kuttalam, Sirkazhi (res) and Vedaranyam, the CPI(M) won Nagapattinam, and PMK and Congress wresting Poompuhar and Mayiladuthurai respectively. Film star T. Rajendar could finish only third in Mayiladuthurai seat.

The rout of AIADMK was total in Tiruvarur district too. The DMK-led front won all the seats: DMK - 1 and CPI - 3.

Thanjavur surprise

The AIADMK sprang a surprise by winning five seats in Thanjavur district. The party's win in Papanasam seat, which had returned only Congress candidates since 1962, barring 1971, was a notable one. While the AIADMK Minister, Vaidhialingam, has been re-elected from Orathanad, the former DMK Minister, Ko.Si. Mani has retained his Kumbakoman seat.

In Pudukottai district, however, it was a split verdict. Interestingly, the DMK has registered a win in Aranthangi after a gap of 35 years. The BJP candidate, a close aide of BJP MP, Thirunavukkarasar, who held this seat for a record six times in a row in the past, managed to finish only fourth here.

The Fisheries Minister, M. Radhakrishnan lost by a slender 314 votes to his Congress rival RM. Subburam in Tirumayam seat, while a former AIADMK Minister, A. Venkatachalam lost the race in Alangudi by about 9,100 votes, due to the presence of the AIADMK rebel candidate Raja Paramasivam. The former AIADMK minister, K. P. Krishnan, who contested on the BJP symbol, finished third here.

Though the DMK front managed to wrest three of the four seats in Karur, the defeat of its district secretary, Vasuki Murugesan, in Karur constituency, was a jolt. In Perambalur, PMK was in for some shock, when its sitting MLA, J. Guru, conceded defeat to the AIADMK nominee in Jayamkondam seat.

The performance of the DMDK candidates in the central region is a matter of surprise for the political observers. The party nominees polled over 10,000 votes in many seats, including six in Tiruchi district.

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