Notwithstanding the recent conviction of the DMK’s Villupuram bigwig and former Higher Education Minister, K. Ponmudy, and his wife, P. Visalakshi, in a disproportionate assets case by the Madras High Court, the VCK is keen on fielding its candidate from the Villupuram Lok Sabha seat as an ally of the DMK in 2024.
In 2019, the DMK allotted the Chidambaram and Villupuram seats to the VCK. However, in Villupuram, D. Ravikumar, former general secretary of the VCK, won on the DMK’s ‘rising sun’ symbol. Hence, technically, the seat was accounted for in the DMK’s overall Lok Sabha tally.
Mr. Ravikumar defeated the PMK candidate by more than 1,28,000 votes. In a constituency where the PMK has significant strength, Mr. Ravikumar’s victory was largely seen as the result Mr. Ponmudy throwing his weight behind him and mobilising the party’s resources to ensure his victory.
