Deciding factor votes, a crucial bet for the DMK

Winning a contest, especially in elections, at a time when the opponent camp is divided cannot be a big achievement, opine political observers. “In fact, this is the right opportunity and real test for the DMK to prove that it has the people’s backing and not just its traditional votes,” says Ganesan Subramanian, a political observer. It is the deciding factor votes, that is electorate who don’t side with any party, that used to give the victory margin for a candidate in most of the elections. 

The difference in vote percentage between the two Dravidian majors has always been minimum in most of the elections in the past, except on a few occasions when there was a wave, he explains. Vouching this view, Vetrivendan, a long-time functionary of the DMK in Madurai, says, now that the AIADMK is fighting the two elections, a split in the vote base of the party is certain. But the deciding factor may either support one of the factions or choose to vote in favour of some other party. 

The second option is the point where the DMK should try to capitalise and poll more percentage of votes to send out the message that people are supporting them and it is all set to return to power with a popular mandate in the next general elections to the Assembly. Though the bypoll, which is going to be a multi-cornered contest, may narrow down to a tight fight between Madhusudhanan, the candidate of the OPS faction, and Marudhu Ganesh, a new face fielded by the DMK, according to some surveys.

Residents in the constituency say Gangai Amaran, the BJP nominee and Loganathan, the CPM choice, will surely play some spoilsport in the vote percentage of both Madhusudhanan and Marudhu Ganesh. 

But, TTV Dinakaran camp is 100 per cent confident of winning the seat. To drive home this point, Sathish Kumar, an AIADMK sympathiser, says, the is a ‘valuable and powerful’ strategy devised by the Amma faction candidate. 

A big team has been deployed for the field work and 70 per cent of the job has been completed even as four days left for the campaigning to end. Victory or defeat, while the by-poll is a decisive battle for both the factions to prove their influence among the people and supremacy in the party, for the DMK it is a big challenge to show that now the electorate  are with it.