Lok Sabha elections 2014: Several self-financing college owners enter poll fray in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: Reflecting growing presence of politicians in the field of private higher education in Tamil Nadu, the April 24 Lok Sabha elections fray in the state features at least a dozen candidates who head or have stake in engineering and medical colleges.

Tamil Nadu has one of the largest numbers of self- financing colleges with engineering institutions alone accounting for over 500 with a number of them being run by persons with political background cutting across party lines.

The trend of politicians entering the lucrative self- financing professional education field started in the 1980s when it was thrown open to the private sector.

Taking the electoral plunge for the first time is founder of Indiya Jananayaka Katchi (IJK), BJP's ally and head of the SRM Group of institutions, T R Pachamuthu from Perambalur constituency.

Pudhiya Needhi Katchi (New Justice Party) President A C Shanmugam, founder of Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, is returning to poll arena nearly after a gap of three decades.

A former MP and MLA, Shanmugam is contesting from Vellore constituency, in alliance with BJP. In 1980 Assembly election, he emerged winner contesting from Arani constituency and in 1984 from Vellore constituency under the AIADMK ambit.

AIADMK candidate from Sriperumbudur constituency K N Ramachandran is another prominent face in the field. He is the Chairman of Sakthi Mariamman Engineering College and Kannammal Educational Trust, Chennai.

DMK leader and former Union Minister S Jagathrakshakan, contesting from Sriperumbudur constituency, heads the private Bharath University and several other engineering and medical colleges in Chennai.

Another DMK nominee Pongalur N Palaniswamy, trying his luck from Pollachi, manages the Kalaignar Karunanidhi Institute of Technology, Coimbatore.

Similarly, family members of AIADMK's M Thambidurai, fielded in Karur, also have presence in the education sector.

According to 72-year-old Pachamuthu, who also runs 'Puthiya Thalaimurai' Tamil TV channel, "The tendency to serve the people and the necessity of a national organisation for the uplift of the downtrodden is the major motive behind the launch of his Indiya Jananayaka Katchi (ahead of last assembly polls in 2011)."

Incidentally, Shanmugam, Pachamuthu and Jagathrakshakan are in the top ten of super-rich candidates owning assets worth more than Rs 50 crore.