TRICHY: The 2011 assembly election dealt quite a blow to former transport minister and DMK's Trichy district secretary KN Nehru. Not only did he lose the seat he considered his stronghold, and which DMK had held for a more than decade, he also lost a bypoll held a few months later. This time, he is hoping his luck has turned and that he will be able to trump his main rival, AIADMK's district secretary R Manoharan.
Nehru, 63, and his camp were jubilant when the AIADMK first S Tamilarasi as a candidate as they felt she would not be a tough competitor. Within a few days, however, the party did a rethink and replaced Tamilarasi with Manoharan, who is the sitting MLA of Trichy East. The going has been tough for Nehru since the double loss in 2011. After the AIADMK came to power, he was accused in land grab cases along with his younger brother KN Ramajayam. In March 2012, Ramajayam was murdered, yet another blow to Nehru. Police are yet to close the case.
The crossing over of DMK minister N Selvaraj to AIADMK has also weakened Nehru. Selvaraj, belongs to the majority Muthuraja community , and his defection has taken a crucial vote bank to the other side. In Trichy, Muslims, who lean towards DMK, form a major votebank, apart from the Muthuraja community , and its these two groups that both parties are out to woo.Scheduled castes and communities make up the rest of the voting population. Usually, the candidates are chosen from the dominant communities but this time, neither the AIADMK nor DMK has chosen candidates from these groups. The fight for Trichy West has just begun, and though 13 other candidates are in the fray, its these two who are the main rivals.
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