Will RK Nagar by-poll make or break Dinakaran’s career?

Last time, when the by-election was announced for April 12, Dinakaran, who started with a lot of anti-incumbency, finally made it a tough contest for both the DMK and his rival from the O Panneerselvam group. Despite the absence of the magical ‘Two Leaves’ symbol, most of the poll surveys put him ahead of his AIADMK rival E Madhusudhanan and breathing down the neck of DMK nominee Maruthuganesh. 

The DMK, which confidently fielded an unknown face and focused its attack on Panneerselvam’s candidate and former minister E Madhusudhanan, turned its attention towards Dinakaran towards the end of the battle. Although, both the Dravidian parties were charged with distributing money, political analysts opined that with the huge flow of cash, he had raised the market rate of votes to a new high that could not be reached by any other party. 

But, the position of Dinakaran had undergone a sea change in six months. From a leader commanding the support of a state government and its machinery, he has virtually become one of the opposition leaders facing scathing attacks from the ruling party. He had lost control of the party with most of the MLAs, MPs and general council members siding with the Chief Minister.

However, his supporter and MLA P Vetrivel denied that Dinakaran was taking a huge risk. He said, “How will we field our leader if the contest is too risky? I know the area and its people very well as I have represented the constituency. There is a mood of anti-incumbency sweeping in RK Nagar and the ruling party will struggle to retain their deposit. We are not looking just for the second place. Dinakaran will certainly win the contest and prove his mass support.” 

But, it will be a struggle for political survival for the beleaguered leader looking to prove his faction as the ‘real AIADMK.’ A win or second position in RK Nagar will give the much-needed legitimacy to his faction. But, if he is pushed to the third position, it will almost be the end of the road for him.