TN: Selvi to be the second woman DMK MP

Chennai, May 18: From housewife to Parliamentarian to a Union Minister, the journey has been a meteoric one for the 31-year-old Ms Radhika Selvi, wife of slain 'don' Venkatesa Panniyar who was killed in an encounter in the city in 2003.

Hailing from the predominant Nadar community, the rookie MP from the Southern Tuticorin District will be the second woman MP from Tamil Nadu to be inducted into the Union Cabinet after Ms Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan.

This also means two of the three DMK women MPs have got place in the Union Council of Ministers.

Said to be very close to TN Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi's poet-daughter Kanimozhi, she put the tragedy of her husband's death behind her after the party nominated her to the Tiruchendur Parliamentary Constituency in the 2004 General Elections.

She won the polls campaigning with her new-born and made her way to the historic hall of Parliament for the first time.

Ms Selvi was pregnant when Venkatesa Panniyar was shot dead by the police after he opened fire at them when they went to arrest him during the previous AIADMK rule headed by Ms J Jayalalithaa.

But good fortune paved the way for her maiden entry into the Union Government and it came in the form of resignation of Communications and IT Dayanidhi Maran, who fell from grace after his three-year tenure as Minister.

Ms Selvi's foray into politics was after her husband's encounter killing, to which major political parties in Tamil Nadu, for the first time, demanded a CBI probe.

The DMK's decision to give her berth in the Union Cabinet was seen in political circles as a strategic move to win the confidence of the Nadars who have a sizeable vote bank in the southern districts.

It also fulfilled the community's long-cherished dream of having a person of their own in the Union Cabinet, after their demand to get a berth for the then DMK MP and Actor Sarathkumar (elected to Rajya Sabha and belonging to the Nadar community) did not bear fruit.

Mr Sarathkumar had since quit the party and resigned his MP seat. He was now toying with the idea of launching his own political outfit.

In this backdrop, Ms Selvi's elevation from MP to Minister was also seen as a subtle attempt by the DMK to scuttle the growing influence of Mr Sarathkumar among the Nadar community and to cause sufficient dent in his votebank.

UNI

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