Thiruvotriyur: AIADMK fishes in DMK’s troubled waters

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on April 8, 2011:

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/polls2011/tn/aiadmk-fishes-in-dmk%E2%80%99s-troubled-waters/263606.html

CHENNAI: With the power-packed campaigning in the fishermen-dominated Thiruvotriyur constituency reaching its peak, both the DMK and the AIADMK candidates are slugging it out to garner the 80,000-odd fishermen votes, which could seal their victory in April 13 Assembly Election.

Though DMK’s K P P Samy, who is seeking a second term, and AIADMK’s K Kuppan are both from the fishermen community, simmering resentment against Samy for showing partiality while securing benefits to tsunami-affected families and the unrestricted ‘activities’ of his brothers, K P Shankar and K P Chokalingam in the locality are likely to swing more votes in favour of Kuppan.

Of the total two-lakh odd voters in the segment, fishing community votes alone constitute about 80,000 and it is a well-recorded fact that the voting percentage of the community always remains around 90 per cent in each election, way ahead of the others.

Besides battling with the anti-incumbency factor, Samy is also facing criticism by a majority of the voters for failing to rein in on his brothers.

It may be noted that Shankar, who used to campaign ‘actively’ for his brother Samy in the constituency, is absconding since mid-March after his alleged attempt to murder a group of people, who reportedly campaigned against Samy in 2006.

“Besides Shankar, Samy’s other brother Chokalingam earned a bad reputation among the local traders for poking his nose into their business activities,” a smalltime businessman requesting anonymity told Express.

Ground-level trends (few days ahead of the election) indicate that the voters in fishing hamlets like Nalla Thaneer Odai Kuppam, Ondi Kuppam, Thiruvotriyur Kuppam (Kuppan’s village), Palagaithoti Kuppam, Ernavur Kuppam, Indira Gandhi Kuppam, Chinna Kuppam, Periya Kuppam, Nettu Kuppam, Thazhang Kuppam and Mugathuvara Kuppam  are likely to favour the AIADMK, while Samy enjoys support in Thiruchinang Kuppam and Kasi Vishwanathar Koil Kuppam (Samy’s village).