DMK to contest Lok Sabha poll in Tenkasi after 28 years

TENKASI: The DMK is to test its luck this time in the reserved Tenkasi Lok Sabha constituency after a long gap of 28 years.

Of the 15 Lok Sabha elections held here since 1957, the DMK had only once contested in the constituency in 1991, when its candidate Dr Sadhan Thirumalaikumar, lost to his Congress rival M Arunachalam, who represented the constituency in the parliament consecutively for six terms since 1977.

This reserved constituency has three reserved assembly segments - Sankarankoil, Vasudevanallur and Srivilliputhur. Kadayanallur, Tenkasi and Rajapalayam, are the three other assembly segments in this Lok Sabha constituency.

TTV Dhinakaran's party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), which is believed to make inroads into the AIADMK's loyal Thevar community, is one of the dominant caste groups in the constituency. With the support of the Congress and CPI vote banks, the DMK is optimistic about an easy victory in Tenkasi.

The constituency was expected to be either allotted to the Congress that represented Tenkasi in parliament for nine terms or to the CPI that won this election twice consecutively in 2004 and 2009.

But, it has been allotted to the DMK for its Virudhunagar district youth wing functionary Dhanush Kumar, whose father was a former MLA and a long time friend of the DMK Virudhunagar district secretary, KKSSR Ramachandran, said a DMK functionary.