According to Election Commission of India (ECI), If a candidate fails to secure at least one-sixth of the votes in a Lok Sabha election, their deposit will be forfeited.
Consequently, Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Party has lost its deposit across all 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu. Despite this, the party has gained political recognition with eight percent of the vote.
In this regard, during a press interaction, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Selvaperundhai expressed concern about the voting pattern in Tamil Nadu, noting that disillusioned youths tend to support the Naam Tamilar Party. He cautioned against this trend, labeling it as dangerous for the youth, particularly when voting for divisive figures like Seeman.
The journalist asked, “The vote percentage of Naam Tamilar Party has also increased, how do you see this?” Selvaperundhai replied, “This is very dangerous thing. The most dangerous thing in this country is disillusioned youth voting to Naam Tamilar. There is no other dangerous news than this. He is also a separatist, has no trust in democracy.”
It is noteworthy to mention that Selvaperunthagai himself was once a Tamil nationalist and was a big supporter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
During the 2016 Assembly elections, Congress leader D Yashoda, who had previously served as the representative for Sriperumbudur in 1980, 1984, 2001, and 2006, raised concerns about Selvaperunthagai’s candidacy, alleging his support for LTTE. She had alleged that Selvaperunthangai is a staunch supporter of the LTTE and had joined the Congress with the motive of safeguarding his alleged “ill-gotten wealth”.
Even back then she questioned how the Congress, of all parties, could nominate Selvaperunthagai, who was associated with the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a pro-LTTE party, in Sriperumbudur – the same location where the LTTE carried out a suicide bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
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