Chennai, Mar 30 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP has zeroed in on four Lok Sabha seats which it feels it can win -- Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, and Madurai.
In Tirunelveli, the party has fielded the sitting MLA from the Tirunelveli Assembly constituency, Nainar Nagendran, who's a name to reckon with in the region.
Nagendran is presently the leader of the BJP in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, and the party fielding him from Tirunelveli is viewed as a political move aimed at capturing the seat.
The Tirunelveli Lok Sabha seat is presently represented by the DMK's S. Gnanathiraviam, who had won in 2019 by a huge margin of 1,85,720 votes against AIADMK leader P.H. Manoj Pandian. The BJP was in alliance with the AIADMK in the 2019 polls.
Interestingly, the INDIA bloc allocated the Tirunelveli Lok Sabha seat to the Congress, which has fielded Robert Bruce as its candidate from the seat.
The AIADMK is also in the fray with party leader M. Jansi Rani contesting the seat.
The Tirunelveli constituency comprises Tirunelveli, Alangulam, Ambasamudram, Palayamkotai, Nanguneri, and Radhapuram Assembly seats.
While Nagendran is the Tirunelveli MLA, the Alangulam seat is represented by Manoj Pandian, who is presently with the rebel faction of the AIADMK.
The BJP is in alliance with the rebel faction of the AIADMK led by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.
This means that in the two Assembly constituencies of Tirunelveli and Alangulam, the BJP candidate has an edge.
Meanwhile, there is resentment against the ruling DMK and the state police in the Ambasamudram Assembly constituency -- which is represented by AIADMK's Esakki Subai -- over the torture of a group of youth by then ASP Balvir Singh (IPS). This could also lead to antagonism against the INDIA bloc candidate.
The Palayamkotai Assembly seat is represented by M. Abdul Wahab of the DMK.
The Nanguneri seat is represented by Congress' Ruby M. Manoharan, who had led a group of party workers and local leaders to the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) headquarters in Chennai against then TNCC President K.S. Alagiri. The move had led to a major division in the party in Nanguneri, which can turn into an advantage for the BJP.
In Radhapuram, Assembly Speaker and DMK leader M. Appavu is the sitting MLA.
A senior state BJP leader told IANS that Tirunelveli is one seat the party hopes to win as several factors are working in its favour this time.
Also, the alliance with the Pannneeselvam faction of the AIADMK has raised BJP's hopes. The Thevar community, which backs Pannneeselvam who is a powerful Thevar leader, is likely to support the BJP candidate in Tirunelveli.
R.M. Periyasamy, a poll strategist and social activist, told IANS, “The BJP has an edge in Tirunelveli this time as there are some differences between the Congress and the DMK. Also, the AIADMK is a divided house between the Pannneeselvam and Palaniswami factions. The fact that Pannneeselvam is a prominent face among the Thevar community, which has a strong presence in southern Tamil Nadu, including Tirunelveli, can go to BJP's advantage.”
Also, with an array of national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, scheduled to campaign in Tirunelveli, BJP nominee Nagendran will surely fancy his chances of opening the party's account in the constituency.