Sunday, Jan 12, 2003
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Tamil Nadu
By Radha Venkatesan
According to the schedule released by the Election Commission, the notification will be issued on January 31 and the last date for filing nominations is February 7. While the papers will be scrutinised by returning officers on February 8, the last date for withdrawals is February 10. Counting will be taken up on March 1. As electronic voting machines are being used in this election too, the results will be known before noon the same day. The final rolls in the constituency, which fell vacant following the death of the erstwhile Tamil Maanila Congress (now merged with the Congress) MLA, Mani Nadar, will be published on January 17. Going by the draft rolls, the constituency has 1,53,560 voters, with women (81,140) outnumbering men (72,420). The model code comes into effect from today in Tuticorin district, in which the Assembly segment falls, according to the State Chief Electoral Officer, Mrutunjay Sarangi. This time, it may not be a head-on tussle between the main regional parties, AIADMK and DMK. For, the BJP and the Congress too have begun hectic preparations. The byelection comes at a time when the AIADMK Government's anti-conversion law has triggered a sharp political divide and the erstwhile "secular allies" of the ruling party — Congress and Left — have come together to cobble up a new "Opposition front". While the AIADMK general secretary and Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, has already announced her party's decision to contest the election, the main opposition, DMK, caught between subtle pressures from its present ally, BJP, and a potential ally, Congress, is yet to make up its mind. But the BJP, which lost the seat in the May 2001 general election by a little over 5,000 votes, would "positively contest", said the national secretary, L. Ganesan. "As of today, we are determined to put up a candidate. For, the party has a good base in the constituency and wants to consolidate itself there." The State election committee would meet on January 18 to make its recommendations to the high command. Whether or not the DMK extended support, the State BJP was "unanimous" that the party should jump into the fray. The State Congress, which is equally eager to take on the AIADMK and the BJP, has called a meeting of its office-bearers here for Sunday to finalise its strategy. "The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to contest. For, we (TMC) won the seat in the last election," asserted its president, S. Balakrishnan. The CPI and the Indian National League had come forward to back the Congress candidate, and the CPI(M) would convey its decision by tomorrow. However, in the constituency, with almost an equal number of Hindu and Christian Nadars, the DMK stand could make the crucial difference to the "secular" combine. The DMK president, M. Karunanidhi's recent caustic attack on Hindutva and the State BJP have raised a lurking hope in the State Congress and the Left parties of its supporting their "secular" candidate. But they realise that the DMK is unlikely to burn bridges with the BJP so early. Still, the byelection could mark the beginning of new political equations in Tamil Nadu.
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