Star Candidate: Kanimozhi Karunanidhi / DMK

CHENNAI: Seeking re-election from the Thoothukudi constituency might appear as a cakewalk for the DMK deputy general secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi as her challengers SDR Vijayaseelan of NDA and Sivasamy Velumani of AIADMK are relatively less known. But it would be a statement victory for her if she makes it, as she moves out of the shadows of being late M Karunanidhi’s literary heir to an asserting position as a politician campaigning for the party across the state.

Kanimozhi has an advantage in the constituency as she is lauded even by her detractors for staying with the people on the field during the Thoothukudi floods. A post-graduate in economics, Kanimozhi is also armed with a wealth of experience as the chairman of Parliamentary Committees on Fertilizers and Panchayat Raj in an uninterrupted run as MP since 2007.

Initially restricted to the identity of the literary heir of a stalwart father, Poet Kanimozhi stepped out of it after 2007 when she was first nominated to the upper house of the Parliament. Re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha for another term during the twilight of her statesman father’s career and life, she headed various Parliamentary committees during the two successive tenures of the UPA. But replicating her grand victory of 2019 would weigh heavily on Kanimozhi because re-election from the same constituency would be a kind of referendum on her performance. Credited with voicing for the now-inaugurated Kulasekarapattinam rocket launch facility and ‘revival’ of the Madurai – Thoothukudi rail route via Aruppukottai besides successfully bringing big-ticket investments to the coastal town with the help of her brother and Chief Minister MK Stalin, she would be expected to outdo herself this time and secure a victory margin over and above the 3.47 lakh votes of 2019.