The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has chosen to contest in most of the Parliamentary constituencies in the western region of Tamil Nadu, considered its traditional stronghold.
The party will be contesting in seven out of nine constituencies in the belt - Krishnagiri, Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Tiruppur, Pollachi and The Nilgiris, while it has left Dharmapuri to the Pattali Makkal Katchi and Coimbatore to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Barring parts of the western belt where the PMK and the BJP have presence, the AIADMK has to depend on its resources and manpower for success.
Another region targeted by the ruling party is the north, where it will have its candidates in six seats - Tiruvallur, South Chennai, Kancheepuram, Arani, Tiruvannamalai and Chidambaram. If one were to take into account the New Justice Party which will contest on the AIADMK’s symbol of “two leaves” in Vellore, the tally will go up to seven, which equals the ruling party’s figure in the western belt. The AIADMK has apparently decided to make use of the strength of the PMK, which has considerable base in the northern districts, apart from the DMDK, known for having its following in Cuddalore district and parts of Villupuram district.
Of the remaining seven constituencies, the PMK will contest in seven and the DMDK in two constituencies.
In the Central districts where the AIADMK’s principal rival, DMK, is said to be stronger than the former, the ruling party will contest in Karur, Perambalur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai. Of the four, two seats - Karur, which has sent Deputy Speaker M. Thambi Durai four times to the Lok Sabha, and Mayiladuthurai - were bagged by the party even in 2009.
In the south, regarded as another stronghold of the AIADMK, the party will put up its nominees only in three seats - Madurai, Theni and Tirunelveli.