Voters backing Kamal Haasan, Seeman shows TN yearns for alternative

Chennai: In the first major electoral exercise after the demise of the two Dravidian giants, M Karuanidhi and J Jayalalithaa, the voter in Tamil Nadu has indicated (s)he is willing to explore beyond the defined boundaries of political discourse.  The poll results show the voters' yearning for an alternative.

The fledgling Makkal Neethi Maiam of Kamal Haasan and the pro-Eelam Tamil nationalist outfit 'Naam Tamizhar Katchi' of Seeman have done well despite facing the usual odd hurdles in taking on the heavyweights of the 'established' parties that have deep pockets and vast armies of poll workers.

In contrast, the ruling AIADMK has lost all but one of the 38 Lok Sabha seats it contested in Tamil Nadu, not to forget the defeat of its ally, the AINRC, for the lone seat in Puducherry. The DMK on the other hand has done pretty well in reversing the score of Jayalalithaa in its favour. However, the point to ponder over this time is the voter's response to the parties led by Kamal Haasan and Seeman.

Kamal's MNM got 3.72 per cent of the total votes polled-it did not contest in Kancheepuram and Perambalur while Vellore has been countermanded--but more importantly, its candidate crossed the one-lakh mark in Chennai (South), Sriperumbudur and Coimbatore. The party candidate secured more than 50,000 votes in seven constituencies.

Seeman's NTK crossed the 50,000 mark in 14 constituencies while registering a creditable 3.88 per cent share of the 4,23,66,721 votes polled. It bagged 49,898 votes in Tirunelveli, had no candidate in Nilgiris. The scores in the three Chennai constituencies would defeat the perception among some that the pro-Eelam party borrowing from the LTTE flag of the Roaring Tiger is just a rural south outfit.

Pollsters said the youth formed the backbone of NTK and that would make it a party to watch as it prepared for the Assembly elections due in two years from now. Same is the case with the MNM though the latter showed more preference among the non-DMK/AIADMK loyalists in the educated middle-class and the upper crest of urban centres.

At his press conference in the Chennai office, MNM chief Kamal was all smiles declaring even he did not expect this kind of public acceptance of his “just 14-month-old baby”. He went to the extent of terming it 'adulation' from the electorate that went “beyond our expectation” and oozed well-justified confidence in stating that he would have done better if he had more time. “I don't think there is such history for a new party”, said Kamal conveying pretty clear that the TNM will present a much better option when the voters queue up at the booths next time-perhaps much sooner than the Assembly poll expected in 2021. Perhaps at the Local Body elections, where Seeman will also be a strong bidder.

The Tamil Nadu voter showed such enthusiasm towards a newcomer way back in 2006 when

actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth presented his less-than-a-year-old DMDK at the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, and walked away with a seat in the Assembly and just over 10 per cent of the votes polled.

Sadly, he lost his political steam in the years that followed and personal health too.

It is unlikely that Kamal and Seeman will make the mistakes that the DMDK chief had done, though it is too soon to judge how their political innings will shape up in the next few years of 'opportunities' and 'political enlightenment' as the AIADMK is expected to go through more challenges.