Arumugam keeps away as kin lock horns

SALEM: Former agriculture minister and DMK district secretary Veerapandi S Arumugam failed to cast his vote in the local body elections in his native Poolavari on Wednesday, though his daughter-in-law Brindha Chezian and sister-in-law Muthuponnu are in direct contest there.Brindha, the widow of Arumugam’s elder son Chezian, is the outgoing panchayat president. Muthuponnu is the wife of Arumugam’s brother Kuppusamy and mother of Veerapandi MLA S K Selvam (AIADMK). Both these families and that of Arumugam’s niece Vijayalakshmi Palanisamy (daughter of another brother of the ex-minister) are at loggerheads. The Veerapandi constituency has been retained by the members of any of these families at any point of time. Selvam was elected from the constituency in 2001. Then sitting MLA of Panaimarathypatti, Vijayalakshmi was given the seat in 2006. But she lost to Arumugam’s son A Raja. In the recent assembly election, Vijayalakshmi was shunted to Sankagiri where she defeated her uncle Arumugam. Similarly, Selvam defeated Raja who ran for a second term in Veerapandi constituency. The family’s political saga continues even in the lower levels with Chezian’s wife and Selvam’s mother contesting for the panchayat president post. Poolavari was the centre of attraction on Wednesday with reporters and photographers waiting for Arumugam’s arrival to cast his vote. But he did not turn up till noon. When some reporters contacted the DMK office, they were informed that the ex-minister continued to be indisposed after a fall on October 15 and was undergoing treatment for a back injury. However, his son Raja, a co-accused in land grab cases, and other family members voted.