Brigand's widow ready to take electoral plunge

Chennai, Apr 9 (UNI) Muthulakshmi, widow of slain sandalwood smuggler and forest brigand Veerappan, is likely to contest the May eight elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly as an Independent candidate.

A meeting of PMK workers, which Muthulakshmi also attended, decided to field her from Pennagaram constituency as an Independent candidate, if the seat, a PMK stronghold, was not allotted to the party as per the original seat sharing agreement with the DMK.

Sources close to Muthulakshmi said she expressed her willingness at the meeting to take the electoral plunge.

The meeting was presided over by PMK Pennagaram Panchayat Union President C V Maadhu and attended by party Panchayat Union Vice President Thavamalai and PMK Councillor Sakthivel.

The meeting had given time till April 12 for the PMK leadership to hold talks with the DMK and get back the Pennagaram seat, from where PMK President G K Mani, MLA, was elected for two successive terms in 1996 and 2001 polls.

If no decision was forthcoming by Wednesday, the announcement, nominating Ms Muthulakshmi as an Independent candidate would be made on Thursday (April 13), the speakers at the meeting said.

Muthulakshmi's husband Veerappan, who was gunned down by the STF in October 2004, was a Vanniyar.

The Pennagaram seat was taken by the DMK under the revised seat sharing agreement. Earlier, the DMK had chosen to contest from Dharmapuri and allotted Pennagaram to PMK, before swapping the constituencies.

After the killing of Veerappan, Muthulakshmi floated an outfit to champion the cause of tribal people. She had also announced then that she would contest the election.

The PMK however, had decided to field Mr Mani from Mettur this time.

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