BJP ticket: Tuticorin may go to chief, talks on for other seats

CHENNAI: After sewing up an alliance with the ruling AIADMK to strengthen its support base in Tamil Nadu, there is a scramble within BJP for a share of the small pie of five seats for the

Lok Sabha

election. While BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan may get a ticket for

Tuticorin

LS seat, Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan is likely to get the prestigious Kanyakumari seat, from where he triumphed in 2014.


BJP national secretary H Raja may be given Sivaganga and former state president C P Radhakrishnan Coimbatore. Sources said the party, which was keen on South Chennai seat, is disinclined to accept North Chennai and may swap it for Krishnagiri, Trichy or Ramanathapuram.

Leaders say the BJP top brass wants to field Tamilisai, a fiery orator, in the southern district, acknowledging her grassroot work over the last four years. “She gave up her seat in 2014 at the last minute to accommodate new allies. But, Tamilisai, who was then party national secretary, went on to campaign across the state which has been acknowledged by the leadership,” said a senior leader, seeking anonymity.

After tasting defeat twice, Raja, meanwhile has set his sights on South Chennai, reluctant to accept Sivaganga, from where he was defeated twice. AIADMK is, however, firm on retaining the seat for senior minister D Jayakumar’s son and sitting MP D Jayavardan, who is hoping to make a comeback.

There’s a fight over Coimbatore seat by two-time MP and Coir board chairman, Radhakrishanan and state general secretary Vanathi Srinivasan. Ever since Vanathi polled 33,113 votes in Coimbatore South assembly segment in 2016, she has been nurturing the region with frequent meetings with functionaries and organizing public campaigns.

“But the party high command has yielded to CPR given his clout with the electorate, especially the industrialists,” another leader said. Radhakrishnan won in 1998 and 1998 polls in the company of AIADMK and then DMK by more than four lakh votes.

Several BJP leaders are in the queue for tickets this election. The state general secretary K S Narendran and former AIADMK minister and BJP vice president Nainar Nageneran are keen on Krishnagiri and Ramanathapuram constituencies. Vanathi Srinivasan, Kanaga Sabapathi, intellectual cell state convenor and an associate of RSS ideologue, Gurumurthy and G K S Selvakumar, Coimbatore zonal incharge are vying for seats in the western belt, Pollachi, Namakkal and Erode. State general secretary Karuppu M Muruganandam and vice-president B T Arasakumar are eying Trichy.

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