Sivaganga Assembly constituency has got representation in the Council of Ministers, headed by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, after a gap of about two decades with the induction of G. Baskaran as Minister for Khadi and Village Industries Board.
Though Tirupattur Assembly constituency in the district was given representation in the State Cabinet when K.R. Periyakaruppan had served as Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments in the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime, Sivaganga went unrepresented after Tha. Kiruttinan served as Minister for State Highways and Ports during 1998-2001.
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), which had allotted Sivaganga seat to its allies in the 2006 and 2011 elections, fielded Mr. Baskaran in the just concluded elections, and he won the seat, defeating DMK nominee M. Sathianathan alias Mappel K. Sakthi by a margin of 6,636 votes.
Mr. Baskaran, who was Sivaganga Union Chairman, contested the elections after resigning the Chairmanship. He was party’s Sivaganga Assembly constituency secretary.
The AIADMK contested from all the four Assembly constituencies in the district and won from two.
The other winner was Mariappan Kennedy from Manamadurai (Res) constituency.
On the other hand, Ramanathapuram Assembly constituency has secured representation in the State Cabinet for the fifth time with the induction of M. Manikandan as Minister of Information Technology.
He won the seat, defeating Manithaneya Makkal Katchi leader M.H. Jawahirullah by a margin of 33,222 votes. Previously, the constituency was represented in the Cabinet by Ministers T. Ramasamy, M. Thennavan, A. Rahman Khan and A. Anwar Raja.
