MIC - Is it checkmate for Subra?

With each passing day, the events unfolding in MIC begin to resemble a chess game. The question now is, who will face the checkmate?

Party president S Samy Vellu, the Sungai Siput incumbent for three decades, appears to be bent on reinforcing his position by bringing in a group of loyal young leaders as candidates for the March 21 polls.

The question is who will have to make way for them.

The 66-year-old veteran leader, who has lorded over the Indian-based party with an iron grip, is now one of the few political old horses left in the cabinet following the resignations of his closest allies - Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Dr Ling Liong Sik.

He is at present the longest serving - 26 years - party president in the ruling coalition.

There is talk that Samy Vellu's 59-year-old long-time deputy S Subramaniam will one of those to be sacrificed.

One of the president's men started the ball rolling when he remarked at a function held in Subramaniam's Segamat constituency in Johor that voters there may get a new representative.

Following this, the word spread like wildfire among party members before finding its way into the election pullouts of the major national dailies.

Subramaniam, the former deputy domestic trade and consumer affairs minister, first won the Segamat parliament constituency in 1982 but was left out by Samy Vellu in the 1990 general election following protracted party leadership dispute. He made a come back in 1995 and since then had been an "obedient" deputy.

The rumours of Subramaniam being dropped this time around intensified after he met with BN chairperson Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday, which received wide coverage. The former reportedly left Putrajaya four hours later, tightlipped about the proceedings.

While Abdullah deflected speculation that Subramaniam's visit was to discuss his political future, Samy Vellu on the other hand left everybody guessing by refusing to confirm or deny the rumours about his deputy.

The Tamil-language media however speculate that Subramaniam will be dropped and replaced by Dr N Rajendran, a lecturer at a teacher's training college in Tanjung Malim, Perak.

Yesterday, the temperature rose by several degrees when a group of Subramaniam's supporters, comprising several key grassroots leaders, gathered outside the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

According to a party source, the group had come to register their protest over the possibility of the deputy president being dropped from the candidates list.

Meanwhile, the source said Subramaniam's drastic actions during the re-run of the Maika scandal early this year, was the catalyst behind his present predicament.

"It is his (Subramaniam's) own lack of tact during the period of controversy linking Samy Vellu to the Maika scandal that led to the present situation.

"He allowed himself to be associated with the president's sworn enemy, Malaysia Nanban editor Athi Kumanan, who gave Subramaniam prominent coverage in the Tamil daily," said the source on condition of anonymity.

The controversy erupted after another one of Samy Vellu's nemesis Indian Progressive Front (IPF) president MG Pandithan urged the former to step down.

Athi Kumanan is also IPF deputy president, a post he accepted at the height of the Maika quagmire.

"Malaysia Nanban's coverage showed Subramaniam attending related functions, immediately casting him as guilty by association," said the source.

The relationship between the top two leaders in MIC have been on the rocks for decades, with Subramiam openly displaying ambitions in the past of wanting to become the party's numero uno.

As only time will answer the deputy president's fate, which now precariously perches on a tightrope, what about other party veterans whose names have appeared and vanished from that sacred list of candidates?

Despite rumours of being dropped due to advancing age, party sources said vice-presidents KS Nijhar and S Veerasingam would be contesting.

Nijhar is likely to defend his Subang constituency in Selangor, which he won in 1999 by more than 7,000 votes against Keadilan's Irene Fernandez.

On the other hand, Veerasingam is also expected to defend his Tapah seat, which has been carved out of the Tanah Rata state seat. He won Tapah by more than 5,600 votes to defeat Keadilan candidate Kamaruddin Awang Teh.

Another vice-president G Palanivel - many believe him to be Samy Vellu's chosen successor for the time being - is almost sure of defending the Hulu Selangor constituency which he won by more than 8,500 votes against Keadilan's Dr Halili Rahmat in 1999.

As for the new parliamentary seat Cameron Highlands, talk is rife that SK Devamani, the co-director of Sri Murugan Centre - a well-known education movement - may be contesting there.

His name also popped up as a possible replacement for R Ganesan, a one-term state assemblyperson for Sungkai, Perak.

No changes are expected for Samy Vellu's protege, party secretary-general S Sothinathan, who won the Teluk Kemang seat in a by-election by a majority of 5,972 votes against ex-Keadilan leader Ruslan Kassim.

So, who are the newcomers that MIC will be fielding this time around?

National Youth chief SA Vigneswaran, better known as Vicky, is expected to contest the Kapar parliamentary seat in Selangor instead of incumbent P Komala Devi who won by a 2,860-vote majority to defeat PAS' Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Komala Devi is more than likely to face PAS Muslimat information chief Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud in Kota Raja, one of two new parliamentary seats allocated to MIC.

The Kota Raja seat, previously a state seat, was won by Kamala Ganapathy by more than 2,000 votes against PAS' Khalid Abdul Samad. It is now the Seri Andalas state seat, and she is expected to defend it.

Another new development would be in the state seat of Ijuk, where incumbent K Sivalingam is expected to be replaced by the president's political aide S Ananthan.

MIC would be contesting in a total of nine parliamentary and 19 state seats in this election. In 1999, 10 new MIC candidates were fielded.

It would be interesting to see how many newcomers enter the political fray this time around and how many veterans are forced into retirement to make way for them.

As for the fate of Subramaniam, the final decision will be made by BN chairperson Abdullah. The party is expected to release its candidates list later today.