Evading wins: Independents have failed to make a mark in Lok Sabha polls in State

As Tamil Nadu enters the final phase of campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, nearly 609 Independents out of a total of 950 candidates are trying their best to impress voters. Though there has been a consistent increase in the number of Independents entering the fray in the general election from the State, they have largely failed to emerge victorious.

Unlike in local bodies elections, where several Independents scored a victory, fighting majorly on hyper-local issues and using their personal clout, their success rate in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are minimal.

The last time Tamil Nadu elected an Independent candidate to the Lok Sabha was in 1998 when veteran Congress leader Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy, who floated the Thamizhaga Rajiv Congress and fought the elections from the Salem Lok Sabha seat, emerged victorious. He was backed by the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the State and went on to become a Union Minister in the short-lived Vajpayee government in 1998. However, besides that, Independents have been unable to make a mark in the general election.

In 2019, 850 candidates faced the election, of which 562 were Independents. Together, they polled 7.26% of the total valid votes.

Interestingly, candidates backed by T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s AMMK, which did not get the ‘pressure cooker’ symbol and contested on the ‘gift box’ symbol as Independents constitute nearly 50% of the total votes polled by the Independents in that election. However, all 562 candidates forfeited their deposits.

A similar trend was observed in the State in the 2014 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections. A total of 517 and 528 Independents forfeited their deposit in 2009 and 2014 respectively.

But this election, the focus is on Ramanathapuram constituency, where the deposed AIADMK coordinator and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam is contesting as an Independent candidate, with the backing of the BJP-led NDA.

With respect to Assembly election, T.T.V Dhinakaran was the last Independent candidate to have emerged victorious. He won in the R.K. Nagar byelection in 2017, necessitated by the death of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.