Cong,DMK swap seats,Jaya gives Vaiko one less

The Congress and the DMK gave finishing touches to their seat-sharing deal on Sunday by swapping a seat with each other...

The Congress and the DMK gave finishing touches to their seat-sharing deal on Sunday by swapping a seat with each other,while J Gurunathan,who had till recently been detained under the NSA for his acerbic speech against Union Minister A Raja,found a place in the PMKs first list. However,the Opposition front ran into rough weather as the AIADMK allotted only three seats to the MDMK,one less than what it won in 2004.

The Congress handed over Nilgiris,declared reserved after delimitation,to the DMK,in return for the coastal constituency of Cuddalore,represented by MoS K Venkatapathy,according to the list released by DMK president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Sunday. After his Perambalur constituency was dereserved,Raja will now be contesting from Nilgiris.

PMK founder S Ramadoss lieutenant J Gurunathan,alias Kaduvetty Guru,the Vanniyar Sangam leader whose speech against Raja was cited by the DMK as the reason for snapping ties with the PMK,will contest the elections from newly-formed Thiruvannamalai seat,a stronghold of the Vanniyar community. A former MLA who lost in 2006,Guru was detained under the NSA,and subsequently released on November 26 when Karunanidhi made an effort to patch up with the PMK.

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All three seats in Chennai were retained by the DMK,along with neighbouring Thiruvallur,Sriperumbudur and Arakkonam. In the last two constituencies,the party will face the PMK in the coming elections,apart from Dharmapuri and Thiruvannamalai.

Union Minister T R Baalu,who won from South Chennai in the past four elections,will shift his base to neighbouring Sriperumbudur,as his earlier constituency has been substantially redrawn in the delimitation exercise. This being the place where former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991,some Congressmen had demanded the seat,now represented by DMKs A Krishnaswamy.

As the DMK is contesting from Madurai,speculation is rife that the candidate could be Karunanidhis elder son M K Azhagiri,who had shifted base to the temple town a few years ago. Azhagiris daughter Kayalvizhis name is also doing the rounds.

Union Ministers P Chidambaram and Mani Shankar Aiyar will contest from their sitting seats of Sivaganga and Myladuthurai respectively. For MoS E V K S Elangovan,however,the nearest options are Tirupur and Erode,two new constituencies,after delimitation wiped off his Gobichettipalayam constituency.

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As expected,the lone seat in Puducherry has gone back to the Congress,where it will face M Ramadoss of the PMK,who is seeking re-election.

VCK leader Thol Thirumaavalavan,who had caused problems in the UPA with his statements against the Congress on the Sri Lankan issue,will face PMK candidate in Chidambaram (Reserved). Last time,the PMKs E Ponnuswamy had defeated him,then a JD(U) candidate. The VCK will also contest from Villupuram,while the IUML has been given Muslim-dominated Vellore.

The MDMK,which has been weakened by an erosion of leaders and cadres to the DMK,was allotted only three seats. After Vaiko switched to the AIADMK,two of his MPs returned to the DMK,followed by three MLAs.

The CPI will contest from North Chennai,Nagapattinam and Thenkasi,the last being its sitting seat. North Chennai has a good number of working class voters,which,coupled with AIADMKs muscle,could work to the Left partys favour.