Daughters’ prestigious battle for Thoothukudi

While DMK nominee Kanimozhi is the daughter of Dravidian patriarch M Karunanidhi, her opponent is BJP state president and party candidate Tamilisai Soundararajan, who is the daughter of veteran Congress leader Kumari Ananthan.

The battle for Thoothukudi seat, which has a total of 14.72 lakh voters, is intriguing as it is the only constituency where the DMK and the BJP are involved in a direct clash.

The constituency has six Assembly constituencies, namely Thoothukudi, Srivaikuntam, Tiruchendur, Kovilpatti, Ottapidaram and Vilathikulam. Four of the six Assembly segments were won by the AIADMK in 2016 polls and the remaining two by the DMK.

However, Vilathikulam Assembly segment is facing a bypoll on April 18, as its MLA was disqualified following his defection to the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK).

Kanimozhi, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP, was actively ‘nurturing’ the areas coming under the Thoothukudi constituency the past 4 years. Her rival Tamilisai has contested elections thrice. However, she lost the polls all the three times.

Other notable players in the fray are TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK candidate Puvaneshwaran, a doctor, and Makkal Needhi Maiam’s (MNM) nominee TPS Ponkumaran, a businessman.

Thoothukudi hit the national headlines last year when 13 protesters were killed in police firing during the anti-Sterlite rally on May 22. The scar of the incident, which created widespread furore, is still afresh in the minds of Thoothukudi voters. Fed up with the approach of both the DMK and the AIADMK to their grievances, several anti-Sterlite activists have taken the plunge in this election.

Winning this constituency is a prestige affair for both the ‘daughters’ who face challenge from several other groups, including the anti-Sterlite group.