It came as a shock for political onlookers and experts to see Dr Anbumani Ramadoss lose his seat in Pennagaram constituency. He was the only MP to have won the seat during the 2014 Parliamentary election even when the AIADMK wave swept the state.
Anbumani Ramadoss, who appeared to voters as an educated candidate, had made several promises including total prohibition, lokayuktha and free education. But that was of little help.
According to experts, PMK was trying to revamp its image by projecting itself as a party without any caste bias. But it could keep its caste-neutral till the end. S Ilayaraja, a political critic, said the PMK has been publicly trying to win dalit votes, ever since the Elavarasan-Divya intercaste marriage in Naickenkottai here started making news in 2012. "Though they say that they have no caste bias and work for the welfare of all castes including dalits, no serious effort has been made to win dalit votes. For example, none of the PMK leaders actually campaigned in the dalit villages. On the other hand, they campaigned aggressively to win vanniyar, thevar and goundar votes," he said. People have seen through this act and decided not to vote for a caste-based party, he said.
Anbumani, on the other hand, blamed his loss on the bribe factor. "Both the Dravidian parties distributed bribes to all voters. DMK distributed 500 each to voters in Pennagaram while AIADMK gave 1,000 each," he alleged. Anbumani said that he was defeated by money and not by the DMK candidate (P N P Inbasekaran).
Anbumani Ramadoss, who appeared to voters as an educated candidate, had made several promises including total prohibition, lokayuktha and free education. But that was of little help.
According to experts, PMK was trying to revamp its image by projecting itself as a party without any caste bias. But it could keep its caste-neutral till the end. S Ilayaraja, a political critic, said the PMK has been publicly trying to win dalit votes, ever since the Elavarasan-Divya intercaste marriage in Naickenkottai here started making news in 2012. "Though they say that they have no caste bias and work for the welfare of all castes including dalits, no serious effort has been made to win dalit votes. For example, none of the PMK leaders actually campaigned in the dalit villages. On the other hand, they campaigned aggressively to win vanniyar, thevar and goundar votes," he said. People have seen through this act and decided not to vote for a caste-based party, he said.
Anbumani, on the other hand, blamed his loss on the bribe factor. "Both the Dravidian parties distributed bribes to all voters. DMK distributed 500 each to voters in Pennagaram while AIADMK gave 1,000 each," he alleged. Anbumani said that he was defeated by money and not by the DMK candidate (P N P Inbasekaran).