CHENNAI: While there is a big question mark over the future of the Captain Vijayakant Front, a look at the votes polled by its candidates in 232 constituencies emphasized its non-viability as a third alternative. Besides DMDK leader Vijaykant, who polled just 15% of the total votes polled in his Ulundurpet constituency, losing his deposit, all other candidates too polled less than half of what the two Dravidian parties secured.
The third front contested in all 234 constituencies and DMDK fielded candidates in 104 constituencies. In the 2011 election, the total vote share of DMDK, CPI, CPM and VCK was 13.77%. MDMK did not contest in the 2011 assembly election and Congress had been undivided then. But in the 2016 election, the total vote share of People' Welfare Front (PWF), TMC and DMDK adds up to 6.11%.
An analysis of the total votes polled by various parties in the 2016 election shows that the third front candidate did come any where close to the two Dravidian parties and the real contest was only between AIADMK and DMK and their alliance partners.
In Uludurpet, Vijayakant secured only 34,447 votes while DMK candidate, who came second, got 77,809 votes. In Arani, DMDK's R M Babu Murugavel, fielded there for the second consecutive time, polled 7,025 votes and came fourth. It was not just DMDK MLAs, who scored badly, even the performance of the left camarades was below average.
CPM candidate A Soundara Rajan, who won the Perambur seat in 2011 in alliance with AIADMK by a margin of 17,423 votes, secured 10,281 votes there this election and lost his deposit. Most of the candidates from the third front lost their deposit as they did not get the mandatory 1/6th of the total votes polled in the constituency.
In Thiruthuraipoondi, a CPI pocket borough, the party's candidate K Ulaganathan trailed in the third position with 33,038 votes. A reserved constituency, Thiruthuraipoondi has favoured only CPI and the party has won nine times since the 1957 election. This time DMK stormed the left bastion.
TMC candidate from Vaniyambadi C Gnanasekaran lost his deposit. A senior leader of the party Gnanasekaran has won from Vellore and nearby constituencies in several elections in the past. But this election, he trailed behind AIADMK and DMK candidates with 21,090 votes.
"This election has been a real test for small parties, including the Left. Except for VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan in Katturmannarkoil and CPI's T Ramachandran in Thalli all other candidates from the third front trailed in the third or fourth position in their constituency and lost their deposits. It also proved that these candidates have no local support base," said political analyst Badri Seshadri. The two Dravidian parties contested against each other in 171 constituencies and of this DMK won 89 and AIADMK 81. In the northern and parts of western constituencies (Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts), PMK has split the votes and has come third. "As of now PMK is the only alternative to AIADMK and DMK as it has got a better vote share (5.3%) despite not winning any seat," said Seshadri.