A. M. Munirathinam

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A. M. Munirathinam Mudaliyar is an Indian politician Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly from Sholinghur constituency as an Indian National Congress (INC) candidate in the 1989 and 2016[1] and 1991 elections[2] and as a Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) candidate in 1996.[3]

Munirathinam and his three brothers, including Ponnuranga, formed a staunch INC-supporting family that has dominated the political life of the mostly rural area of Sholinghur since the 1960s, with one or other of the brothers either winning or being runner-up in eight of the twelve state assembly elections between 1962 and 2011. They operate a private bus company that provides both local employment and much-needed cheap transport, and political scientist Adam Ziegfeld believes their "main source of influence seems to be their status as local notables - wealthy, powerful members of the community who are sources of employment and philanthropy".[4]

Despite his strong allegiance to the INC, Munirathinam was among the many people in Tamil Nadu who deserted the party in favour of the newly formed TMC in 1996. He won in the 1996 elections but could not defend the seat in those of 2001 because an electoral pact between the TMC and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) entailed that it would be contested by a candidate from the AIADMK and not by the TMC.[4] He was president of the town panchayat when the TMC merged back into the INC after the death of its founder, G. K. Moopanar, and he then became district president of the INC. Despite his position, he was overlooked as a candidate in the 2006 elections, with the party instead nominating D. Arul Anbarasu, the son of Era. Anbarasu, a prominent INC politician at state level. He and his brothers stayed with the INC, who won the seat, but when Munirathinam was again overlooked by the party in favour of Anbarasu at the time of the 2011 elections, he opted to stand as an independent. He came second with 34 per cent of the vote, while Anbarasu was well behind in third place.[4]

In 2021 Tamil Nadu State elections, Munirathinam won the election for 4th time with 26,698 votes defeating AM Krishnan of PMK party.

Electoral performance

[edit]
2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Sholingur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
INC A. M. Munirathinam 110,228 49.46% 17.28%
PMK A. M. Krishnan 83,530 37.48%
AMMK N. G. Parthiban 12,979 5.82%
NTK Y. R. Pavendhan 9,656 4.33% 3.94%
MNM R. Jawahar 1,664 0.75%
NOTA Nota 1,239 0.56% −0.25%
Margin of victory 26,698 11.98% 7.37%
Turnout 2,22,870 80.33% −1.70%
Rejected ballots 245 0.11%
Registered electors 2,77,440
INC gain from AIADMK Swing 12.67%
2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Sholingur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AIADMK N. G. Parthiban 77,651 36.79%
INC A. M. Munirathinam 67,919 32.18% 11.59%
PMK K. Saravanan 50,827 24.08%
DMDK P. R. Manogar 6,167 2.92% −36.05%
NOTA None Of The Above 1,691 0.80%
BJP Kumar. M 1,468 0.70%
Margin of victory 9,732 4.61% −0.42%
Turnout 2,11,064 82.03% −2.69%
Registered electors 2,57,291
AIADMK gain from DMDK Swing -2.19%
2011 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Sholingur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DMDK P. R. Manogar 69,963 38.98% 29.64%
Independent A. M. Munirathinam 60,925 33.94%
INC Arulanbarasu 36,957 20.59% −25.39%
Puratchi Bharatham M. Bhavani. 3,858 2.15%
Independent T. V. Paramasivam 2,288 1.27%
Independent V. Velu 2,268 1.26%
A. M. Inbanathan 1,181 0.66%
BSP N. Dhinakaran 1,076 0.60%
Independent Vadivel 983 0.55%
Margin of victory 9,038 5.04% −0.70%
Turnout 2,11,864 84.72% 8.21%
Registered electors 1,79,499
DMDK gain from INC Swing -7.00%
1996 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Sholingur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
TMC(M) A. M. Munirathinam 65,361 54.33%
PMK Shanmugham. S. 31,431 26.13%
INC Jayababu. R. 20,849 17.33% −36.57%
MDMK Shanmugham. R. 1,557 1.29%
Margin of victory 33,930 28.21% −3.19%
Turnout 1,20,293 74.70% 4.13%
Registered electors 1,68,374
TMC(M) gain from INC Swing 0.43%
1991 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Sholingur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
INC A. M. Munirathinam 58,563 53.90% 14.66%
DMK C. Manickam 24,453 22.51% −10.56%
PMK P. Panchatcharam 22,600 20.80%
BJP M. K. Santha Kumar 1,543 1.42%
Independent N. Chandiran 620 0.57%
Margin of victory 34,110 31.40% 25.22%
Turnout 1,08,647 70.57% 9.43%
Registered electors 1,58,696
INC hold Swing 14.66%
1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election: Sholingur
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
INC A. M. Munirathinam 33,419 39.24%
DMK C. Manickam 28,161 33.06% −13.98%
AIADMK C. Gopal 17,125 20.11% −31.28%
AIADMK Kanmani Porki Alias Selvaraj 3,692 4.33% −47.05%
Independent E. Nagarajan 728 0.85%
Margin of victory 5,258 6.17% 1.84%
Turnout 85,171 61.14% −17.49%
Registered electors 1,43,254
INC gain from AIADMK Swing -12.15%

References

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  1. ^ "1989 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  2. ^ "1991 Tamil Nadu Election Results, Election Commission of India" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
  3. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election 1996 for the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Ziegfeld, Adam (2016). Why Regional Parties?. Cambridge University Press. pp. 106–108. ISBN 978-1-10711-868-3.