Tea vendor, an AIADMK diehard, still waits for ticket

Poonganagar Selvam, 60, a tea vendor in Tamil Nadu and a loyal member of the ruling AIADMK since its inception, has lost count of the number of attempts he has gone to get the party ticket for contesting the polls.

Despite his disappointment, he swears his continued loyalty to the party and its leader. He is waiting for dame luck to smile upon him to make an entry into the Assembly.

“I filed my first nomination in 1984 when the party was headed by MGR (former chief minister late M G Ramachandran), ” Selvam told Deccan Herald. 

Though he was not selected even during his first representation, he continued to file his applications consecutively for 12th time. 

A native of Chennai, Selvam was a member of AIADMK party from the period of MGR, who floated the party in 1972. 

 Though his party has ditched Selvam several times, his determination to bag a seat from his party did not die as he filed his latest application on February 4 this year to enter into the party’s candidate list.

Selvam, who strongly believes that his four-decade career in the AIADMK is not over, regrets that deserving candidates were not showcased to the party high command. “Some or other, new persons, who have walked away with tickets, within few years of joining the party”, he rued.