DMK unfazed by PMK exit

TIRUCHY: The exit of Pattali Makkal Katchi from the DMK front is unlikely to have any impact in the delta districts, since it does not have a base here except for a few places in Perambalur district.The cadre and functionaries of the DMK totally ignored the announcement of the PMK, as they felt an alliance with PMK does not matter in the region comprising eight districts.The PMK was allocated four constituencies in the region and won a single seat in Perambalur district. The other three seats Poompuhar, Vedaranyam and Alangudi were won by the AIADMK alliance. The allocation of seats to the PMK at Vedaranyam and Alangudi was opposed by most of the DMK functionaries since the former did not have a presence in those seats.  In Tiruchy district, the PMK does not count as a political force and its absence will not make a difference during the forthcoming Assembly by-polls or the local body elections.The PMK has a presence in the rural parts of Perambalur and Ariyalur districts, where the Vanniyar population is high. Here too, the party should prove that its vote base is intact after the formation of DMDK.The party had establised a base in the villages around Mayiladuthurai in Thanjavur district during the 90s. But, its strength had eroded in the last decade, after the emergence of Vijaykanth.The worst performance came at Vedaranyam, where the PMK was pushed to the third spot by a DMK rebel who lost only by a margin of about ten thousand votes. The PMK’s presence in Karur, Tiruvarur and Pudukottai districts is negligible and the defeat of the party at Alangudi constituency in Pudukottai was expected.The DMK functionaries feel that a comment on the exit of the PMK was unnecessary, since it was not an issue in the region.