The MDMK’s quest to reclaim the Tiruchi Lok Sabha seat after two decades by fielding Durai Vaik, 51 — the son of the party’s general secretary Vaiko, — and the party’s insistence on contesting on its own symbol, albeit a new one, has put the spotlight on the constituency this general election.
An intense political battle is brewing in Tiruchi as Mr. Durai Vaiko is pitted in a four-cornered contest against P. Karuppaiah, also a political novice from the AIADMK, P. Senthilnathan, till recently an AMMK councillor, and D. Rajesh, a pro-jallikattu activist of the NTK.
The possibility of a significant split in votes looms large as former Tiruchi Mayor Sarubala R. Tondaiman, of the AMMK, had polled over one lakh votes in the 2019 general election and the NTK’s candidate secured over 65,000 votes. With the MDMK being allotted this seat in the DMK alliance, at the expense of the incumbent Congress MP Su. Thirunavukkarasar, there is a lot of pressure on Mr. Durai Vaiko. The loss of the party’s ‘top’ symbol and its refusal to be persuaded to contest on the DMK’s ‘Rising Sun’ symbol had raised the prospect of possible strain in relations between the cadre of the two parties on the field. Mr. Durai Vaiko, however, has been dismissive of such apprehensions and does not foresee any problem in working together with the DMK, and other allies, in popularising the new ‘matchbox’ symbol among voters in the age of social media.
