Bypoll 20: Prestige war builds pressure in Aravakurichi

The contest has turned into a prestige war between the two, which is likely to result in the ‘costliest’ contest for a bypoll. 

Since Senthil Balaji, who was elected in the previous by-poll held on November 19, 2016, was disqualified under the anti-defection law, the ruling AIADMK wants to take back the segment by all means. So, senior AIADMK leader and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai and Transport Minister MR Vijayabhaskar are very particular to defeat Senthil Balaji, who has already established himself in the segment.

 Defeating Senthil Balaji means a lot to both the leaders in Karur as he played a major role in the previous term and is also considered to be a heavy weight in the rebel AMMK. Defeating him would otherwise cause damage to TTV Dhinakaran-led AMMK too.

This has been conveyed to the Transport Minister both by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam recently and they had instructed Vijayabhaskar to start the ground works for the elections. 

During the Centenary celebrations of MGR in Karur, the Chief Minister himself was very particular in warning Senthil Balaji that his efforts to topple the government will not work out as he and the Deputy Chief Minister had acquired political experience from the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. “Your age is our political experience,” the CM quoted then.

 However, all these had fired up Senthil Balaji to put in more efforts and ensure a victory and so he organsied mega protests, rallies in the district and a hunger strike and expressed his inability to provide even the basic amenities to his voters.

 He had also selected around 600 youth and 205 booth in-charges for the segment even before the announcement of the election schedules and had completed two rounds of meeting with the selected volunteers. Since it is a battle for his survival Senthil Balaji has charted out his plans carefully to ensure victory by all means.

 Heated exchanges were reported between the two in the recent weeks with the Minister promising to resign from his post if Senthil Balaji wins in Aravakurichi. He later retracted from his statement saying that the ruling party is strong in Karur and he need not resign to prove its strength.

Soon, Senthil Balaji dared Vijayabhaskar to resign his post and contest in Aravakurichi against him.  He also charged that the ruling AIADMK would distribute money to voters.

However, political commentator from the region N Senthilvel said that the AIADMK men in Aravakurichi are in need of a boost to their workforce as Thambidurai and Vijayabhaskar keep a distance from the lower level cadre who are the main force during the elections. “Since Senthil Balaji has established a face value in the segment, the selection of candidate itself should be done carefully by the AIADMK and even by the DMK,” Senthilvel added.