Monday, Feb 25, 2002
Monday, Feb 25, 2002 |
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Tamil Nadu
MADURAI, FEB. 24 It was a `Big Day' for foot soldiers of the AIADMK as the Andipatti byelection verdict gave a new momentum to their `Amma's' campaign against `evil forces' which, they said, had pursued the single agenda of removing her from politics and people. She obtained more than twice the vote of the second-placed Vaigai Sekar of the DMK and won by a margin of 41,200 votes. She surpassed the margin of 32,484 votes with which the AIADMK founder leader, M. G. Ramachandran, won the 1984 elections, defeating the All-India Forward Bloc's late leader, N.Vallarasu. Ms. Jayalalithaa also polled 17,620 votes more than Thanga Thamizhselvan, who resigned to make way for his leader. However, she could not better the 42,257-victory margin set by K. Thavasi of the AIADMK in 1991. However for her, the vote margin in Andipatti is her all-time best. In the 1991 election, she polled 34,291 votes more than her DMK rival, N. S. Rajkumar in Kangeyam and 37,111 votes more than T. Rajendherr in Bargur. Her win has now ensured a traditional political stability at the helm of affairs in the State. ``The era of uncertainty is now over,'' exults a senior party functionary of Madurai district. Largely ignored, but not forgotten in the electoral battle, were the frustrating cases of the MDMK and the Pudhiya Tamizhagam. Though the former played the caste card subtly, the latter brazenly mobilised the support of Dalits in Andipatti, but only to lose deposits. ``It is time for us to sort out through the debris of the lost battles since last Assembly polls,'' ruminates a senior DMK leader in Madurai, who actively took part in the campaign. The DMK's only solace, however, was that it had improved its total from 35,861 in the last Assembly polls to 37,236 votes. Meanwhile, widespread celebrations marked the AIADMK Victory Day in Madurai, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Theni and Ramanathapuram. Many walls of the temple city were `decorated' with multi-coloured mega-sized posters, eulogising their `Amma' for the historic win on her 54th birthday. Special poojas and prayers were offered in temples, churches and mosques. To add spice to the celebrations, free `briyani' was distributed to the poor all over the city and in the neighbouring districts. The adrenalin-shot cadres whooped, whistled and raised slogans against Amma's political adversaries as the margin widened. ``It is a clear and robust message to all our political foes,'' said Sellur K.Raju, Madurai district AIADMK secretary. The wide difference in the margin triggered hysterical celebration amidst cadres in Andipatti, who burnt midnight oil to achieve this objective. At many places, cadres raised boisterous noises of victory, hanging out from speeding vehicles. The euphoria, however, is expected to settle down in a day or two as the party has more reasons to worry. Said a senior party cadre, ``The leader has to develop a new image with a fresh face to lead the State.'' The veterans are worried because Andipatti may not be repeated in the stiffer electoral battles ahead in Vaniyambadi, Acharapakkam and Saidapet.
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