In the constituencies of Madurantakam and Dharapuram, where Maragatham Kumaravel and Sathyabama won after contesting on behalf of TVK, former AIADMK MLAs Vijayabaskar have also begun by-election work in Viralimalai and Karur constituencies with the same expectation.
DMK is also preparing to enter the field aggressively to regain what it lost, while AIADMK is gearing up to recover its declining influence. In the last Assembly election, Maragatham Kumaravel and Sathyabama won on behalf of AIADMK, resigned from their MLA posts, joined TVK, and then won again in the by-election.
Following this, political parties have intensified election work in constituencies including Viralimalai, Karur, and Tiruchi East, where elections have been postponed due to a court stay.
In Viralimalai, C. Vijayabaskar has been meeting people every day in the hope of getting the ticket to contest on behalf of TVK. A video of him praising Chief Minister Vijay is also going viral on social media.
On the DMK side, they say the candidate will be either district secretary K.K. Sellapandian or Palaniappan. On the AIADMK side, it is said that one among district secretary Palanivel, deputy secretary Nallur Karuppaiya, or former district panchayat member Sivasamy will contest.
M.R. Vijayabaskar is confident that he will definitely get a chance to contest on behalf of TVK in Karur, and that he can certainly win then.
Likewise, in the incident in Karur where 41 people lost their lives in a stampede, TVK district secretary Mathiyazhagan is also hopeful that the party leadership will give him another chance, as he has faced various difficulties for the party.
There, election work has begun on behalf of the AIADMK under the leadership of district secretary Kamalakkannan. While it is being said that he himself may be fielded as the candidate, meetings of active workers have been held across the constituency.
On the DMK side, Senthil Balaji is expected to oversee the election work. As far as the Tiruchirappalli East constituency is concerned, K.P. Krishnan's son Chiranjeevi had already filed nomination papers as Vijay's alternate candidate in the last election itself.
Vijay himself received his victory certificate. So they say he may get the chance. Also, former minister Vellamandi Natarajan won this constituency in 2016 and served as a minister. Because of that, he is asking for this constituency for his son Jawahar.
Similarly, R.K. Raja, who first started a fan club in Trichy, and the current district secretary Kudamurutti Karikalan have also begun touring the constituency now itself, in the hope that they will get the seat.
It is understood that on behalf of the DMK, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Inigo Irudhayaraj, or a newcomer may be fielded. On behalf of the AIADMK, one of Aavin Karthikeyan or Manoharan may contest, and reports have also emerged that AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran is likely to enter the fray.
Following the victories in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, TVK members are confident that victory is theirs in these three constituencies in the central region as well. DMK members, meanwhile, are hopeful that if they work a little harder, they can pluck the fruit of victory, since in the by-elections the alliance parties retained the votes they had received in the general election without any help. AIADMK members are waiting in the belief that their future depends on reviving their declining influence through these by-elections.
‘Whistle’ sound already on the walls of Viralimalai
Across the Viralimalai constituency, Vijayabaskar supporters are creating a stir by drawing TVK’s 'Whistle' symbol on the walls.
Because Vijayabaskar worked tirelessly, moving around like a spinning top in the Dharapuram constituency, party leadership is said to have praised his efforts. As a result, his supporters are confidently proclaiming that the TVK seat in the Viralimalai constituency is his, and that victory is certain.
However, the party high command has some dissatisfaction with Vijayabaskar. That is precisely why he has not been given major state-level responsibilities; instead, he has been appointed district secretary, centered only on the Viralimalai constituency.
Even if TVK gives him a ticket, political observers say it will not be easy to overcome the strong influence of the DMK and AIADMK in Viralimalai. Whatever the case, even before the election date is announced, the walls of the Viralimalai constituency have begun to reverberate with the sound of 'whistles'.
