The Edappadi seat in the Salem district is one place where the AIADMK is considered unbeatable. Leader of the Opposition K Palaniswami won by 93,802 votes from the seat, even when a strong DMK wave swept the 2021 Assembly Elections.
Edappadi K. Palaniswami is preparing for another battle from his fortress. Pitted against him are the DMK's Kaasi and the NTK's Priyadharshini. Seeman's party was unable to make any waves in Edappadi last time, as its candidate could only salvage 6,626 votes.
Meanwhile, the superstar Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which is making its electoral debut, is set to back K. Premkumar in the seat. Vijay on Sunday declared his party's decision to back the independent candidate, whose symbol is the television.
"Mr K. Premkumar, contesting as an independent candidate in the Edappadi Assembly Constituency, is someone who previously served as an administrator in our fan club. He is our own brother. Therefore, I wish to inform you that on behalf of our TVK, we have unanimously decided to support our former administrator, Mr K. Premkumar, who is contesting as a candidate in the current Assembly elections, along with the television symbol," the translation of the TVK's post on X read.
"I urge everyone to consider our brother, Mr K. Premkumar, who will take the field with our full support, as our own candidate in spirit, and to vote for him by selecting serial number 12—the television box symbol... With love, I request our administrators, comrades, and the people of the Edappadi Constituency to ensure that he achieves victory by a massive margin of votes. May his victory serve as the right lesson to those who tried to suppress the symbol of the TVK in the Edappadi Constituency and sought victory through crooked means," the post further read.
Why TVK is backing Indpendent in Edappadi seat?
Earlier, the Election Commission had rejected TVK candidate’s nomination from the Edappadi constituency citing the failure to secure the required number of proposer signatures.
TVK candidate Arunkumar had reportedly failed to appear for the scrutiny of his nomination, and his party colleagues had cried foul over his sudden disappearance.
There is little doubt that the TVK is cutting into the vote banks of all major parties. However, the extent of this erosion varies across regions. In the southern, central, and northern districts, including Chennai, the TVK is likely to eat into DMK votes. In the western and northwestern districts, its impact may be felt more strongly by the AIADMK. Geographically, Salem sits at the base of the Shevaroy Hills and is part of the Kongu Nadu region.
It remains to be seen if Premkumar getting Vijay's backing will eat into Palaniswami's votes or further elevate his position by taking a chunk of the DMK votes away. Tamil Nadu will go to the polling booths on April 23, Thursday.