Four's a crowd

The DMK-AIADMK duopoly is facing a challenge with the entry of Vijay and Seeman—splitting votes, tightening margins and making local shifts decisive. Although DMK has the edge, the ground is less certain

- BY LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

The heat is unforgiving, but in Pudukottai, the mood is festive. Drumbeats rise above the hum of a restless afternoon in this southern Tamil Nadu town as men and women sway, chant and clap in rhythm. “Ammanvin anbodu, Vijayabhaskar yendrum nammodu”—with the love of our Amma, Vijayabhaskar is always with us. At the centre of it all, AIADMK’s Viralimalai MLA and former health minister C. Vijayabhaskar leans into the moment. “Do you want scorching heat, or warmth under green trees?” he asks. The crowd roars back. Shawls in red, white and black whirl through the air.

A hundred kilometres to the south, in Kaarai village in Karaikudi constituency, the soundtrack shifts but the energy does not. Here, the sharp blast of whistles cuts through the steady thud of war drums. Dr T.K. Prabhu’s campaign is thick with young faces. “The DMK has deceived us. It is an evil force. Vote for the whistle to throw them out,” he says, hands folded. A dentist who runs a hospital in Karaikudi, he is contesting on behalf of actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam. He is up against the incumbent S. Mangudi of the Congress, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam's Therpogi Pandi and Seeman, chief coordinator of the Naam Tamilar Katchi. “This is a fight for change. People are looking for change,” says Prabhu, reminding voters of his party's whistle symbol.

In Bodinayakkanur in Theni district, the script turns again. Three-time chief minister O. Panneerselvam now stands with the DMK, bringing with him a slice of the southern belt that once formed the AIADMK’s core. His presence lends the ruling party an unexpected advantage in a region where it has often struggled. “We all came from the DMK. It is our parent organisation, and we share the same ideologies and core principles,” says Panneerselvam.