Ulundurpettai and Pennagaram (Tamil Nadu), May 14: Vijayakanth had just filed his nomination papers when he stopped to address an impromptu meeting to please his followers.

"I am happy to contest here in Udumalpettai," the DMDK leader said.

An aide leaned across and whispered something.

"Ulundurpettai," Vijayakanth corrected himself.

The actor-politician can't be blamed for getting his constituency wrong. He has, after all, skated across three constituencies in three Assembly elections, having contested from two seats that neighbour Ulundurpettai - Vridhachalam, in 2006, and Rishivandiyam, in 2011.

He won both times but has chosen to contest from a new constituency this year. The change of scene may have confused his overworked memory, already crowded with the names of the six constituents of his front and their leaders.

Vijayakanth's brother-in-law Sutheesh justified the change in constituency for the coming Assembly elections on May 16, saying that as a political leader with a state-wide appeal, Vijayakanth, 63, could contest from anywhere in Tamil Nadu.

But Vijayakanth has restricted himself to Villupuram district, where all the three seats fall. Reason: his films performed the best in this district, creating a pool of diehard fans who have emerged from whistling admirers to hard-working party cadres.

Take, for example, A. Pavadai, who has been stringing DMDK flags along a state highway with a group of youngsters. The 31-year-old, who works in Malaysia, applied for a long leave and bought air-tickets so he could campaign here for his "Captain".

"How can I be away when my favourite hero is contesting on my own soil?" he said, before asserting that Vijayakanth would win by over one lakh votes and go on to become chief minister.

The reality, however, is slightly different as the fight so far has been between the DMK and the AIADMK, and both have fielded local candidates with a strong caste and cadre base.

"Vijayakanth overlooked an important aspect of this seat - it has never elected an outsider. Barring his fan following and the Dalit votes of ally VCK, there is very little for him to fall back on. Even the communist votes here have dwindled. And to make matters worse, the PMK has fielded a strong candidate to ensure the Vanniyar votes do not migrate to him," said G.R. Vasanthavel, the DMK candidate.

But Sutheesh is confident that the Madurai-born Vijayakanth's star power would see him through, maybe even as a potential chief minister.

That looks even more remote as the third front that Vijayakanth heads commands a vote share of less than 15 per cent, not enough to win 118 seats required for a majority in the 234-member House.

Still, Vijayakanth and his wife Premalatha have voiced the hope that even if 60 per cent of the one crore young voters plumped for the third front, it would romp home.

Eyeing the same young voters is another chief ministerial candidate who is contesting 240km away at Pennagaram.

Former Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss, whose campaign slogan has been "change" and "progress", has positioned himself as a non-Dravidian and non-film-star alternative to the DMK, AIADMK and the DMDK.

At 47, Anbumani, a doctor himself, is the youngest and undoubtedly the fittest among Tamil Nadu's chief ministers-in-waiting but his PMK has been buttonholed too long as a caste party, with just the Vanniyar community as its foundation, underscored by its decision to fight without allies.

That is evident from villages in Pennagaram constituency, where Vanniyar youths flaunt their caste pride, PMK colours and Anbumani T-shirts while riding two-wheeler convoys.

"If caste pride plays out, Anbumani would win easily, even though the DMK and AIADMK candidates are also Vanniyars. Also, the women are a huge support base for the doctor as the PMK has been consistently demanding prohibition for over two decades," said A. Palani, a resident of Mangarai village.

Anbumani's claim for the top job has been backed by an elaborate blueprint for the state's progress, though his party appears capable of sending only a couple of MLAs along with him to the Assembly.

But age and health are on his side. Having marked his ambition this time round, he can afford to wait for the next election.