Chennai: Actor Khusbu Sundar, who ruled the Tamil film industry as heroine for more than a decade, on Wednesday said she was ready to take on Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the prestigious Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency in north Chennai, if she is offered the seat by the Congress.
But, the DMK fielded a political novice Ms Shimla Muthu Chozhan from the high-profile constituency, putting on hold for now the Congress’ request to allot R K Nagar to it.
However, political analysts feel it would be a win-win situation for both the DMK and Congress if the Dravidian major yields this constituency to the ally and Khusbu ends up as the candidate. They said the DMK front could at least appear to put up a semblance of fight if Khusbu is fielded in the tough Jaya turf. The ex-star’s sabre-rattling in R K Nagar is bound to attract big attention.
For the Congress too, fielding Khusbu in R K Nagar rather than in Mylapore as widely speculated earlier would save the party the embarrassment of a mini revolt from the Chidambaram camp. Former Chennai deputy mayor ‘Karate’ Thiagarajan, a PC loyalist, has threatened to play the spoilsport if Khusbu is given the Mylapore ticket by the party. “Pppaahhh..hope all the rumours are laid to rest now with #DMK announcing the candidates…I m here 2 work 4 the party wid utmost sincerity..position is not d criteria..#DMK-CONGRESS has 2 win n I will go all d way 2 ensure that,” Khusbu tweeted after the DMK list was out early evening.
Though Jayalalithaa would win hands down even if Khusbu is fielded against her, still the fight between the two former actors would be a political potboiler and attract national attention, the analysts said. If Khusbu takes on Jayalalithaa, the Congress would stand to gain some political mileage and media attraction at the national level due to the ‘star value’ in this contest. Already, Khusbu’s high-decibel diatribe against the AIADMK government has been getting quite a bit of media attention, particularly in Tamil TV.
Political commentators say though the DMK has already conceded defeat by fielding a political newcomer in R.K. Nagar, still the choice is flexible for the party as the Congress is interesting in fielding Khusbu from there. They say it would be the “most important and spectacular” fight in the Assembly elections, though the result is already predictable — Jaya is expected to win.
Ms Khusbu raised many eyebrows in political circles on Wednesday morning when she said she was ready to contest in any constituency that her party allots her. “I am ready to contest (from) anywhere the TNCC chief (E.V.K.S. Elangovan), Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) and vice president (Rahul Gandhi) ask me to contest. Whether it is R K Nagar or Mylapore or any other constituency even in rural areas, I will obey the orders of the high command. Even if the party asks me not to contest and just campaign, I will do that,” she said.
The former ‘cine queen’ quit the DMK a few years ago after differences with DMK Treasurer M K Stalin, though she maintained cordial relations with his father M Karunanidhi. It would also be interesting to see if the DMK cadre would work for her if she finally gets the R K Nagar seat.
For the general public and ‘vultures’ of the fourth estate, the contest between Jayalalithaa and Khusbu, if it happens, will be the most exciting battle in the May 16 poll.
