Tiruvarur bypoll: For Karunanidhi seat, DMK may opt for family nominee

“Tiruvarur by-poll is a litmus test for all the three parties. If there is no division within Karunanidhi’s family, DMK will win easily. If Azhagiri contests or fields a candidate, then it is open for anybody,” said Ramu Manivannan, head of the politics and public administration department in Madras University.

Tamil Nadu political parties are bracing for what promises to be a tough contest on January 28 for the prestigious Tiruvarur assembly seat , which fell vacant following the death of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M. Karunanidhi in August.

Chennai, India - Karunanidhi attends court in a defamation case on Monday. (Photo by V Srinivasulu) *pic received on January 18, 2016* (File Photo)

The DMK headed by Karunanidhi’s son MK Stalin, Tamil Nadu’s state’s ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), led by chief minister Edapapdi K Palaniswami, and TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) are all holding strategy sessions to identify the best possible candidates for the seat, won by the DMK seven times.

The DMK’s wins in Tiruvarur included Karunanidhi’s victories in 2011 and 2016.

“As our thalaivar (leader) had won the seat twice, we want to retain it again...,” said R S Bharathi, a member of Parliament and organisation secretary of the DMK.

Another top office bearer of DMK, who did not want to be identified, said the party high command was contemplating fielding a Karunanidhi family member in Tiruvarur. “Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin and Karunanidhi’s younger daughter, MK Selvi, are the preferable names for DMK high command,” this person said.

Ramu Manivannan, head of the politics and public administration department in Madras University, said: “Tiruvarur by-poll is a litmus test for all the three parties. If there is no division within Karunanidhi’s family, DMK will win easily. If Azhagiri contests or fields a candidate, then it is open for anybody.”