Gearing up for strong fight with BJP, DMK takes over Coimbatore LS seat from ally CPM

CHENNAI: The ruling DMK has convinced CPM to give up one of its sitting seats and kept Coimbatore for itself in anticipation of the BJP fielding a heavyweight in the resourceful and strategically important Parliamentary constituency in western Tamil Nadu.

Reliable DMK sources disclosed that the party anticipates either State BJP president K Annamalai or sitting Coimbatore (South) MLA Vanathi Srinivasan or one of its heavyweights to be fielded in Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency.

The DMK does not want a repeat of 2021 where a strong BJP candidate would sneak through in a tri-cornered contest. Vanathi managed to win against MNM leader Kamal Haasan and Congress candidate Mayura S Jayakumar.

“Our high command feels that In the event of the BJP fielding a strong candidate and the AIADMK also fielding a good candidate in one of its strongholds, we must not leave it to one of our allies to fight them. So, our leadership wants to keep the seat,” reasoned a DMK insider on condition of anonymity.

If sources in the DMK are to be believed, jailed senior leader V Senthilbalaji, the party in charge of Coimbatore, has given assurances to the high command and even shortlisted a few candidates for the seat.

Information trickling out of Anna Arivalayam suggested that the DMK has already shortlisted a few strongmen from the industrial city to wrest control of the Coimbatore Parliamentary seat, which the Dravidian major has not won for around two decades now.