Madurai, April 19 :    Madurai, April 19:  At Srivilliputhur, 70 km from here, it's a straight contest between father and son. R. Thamaraikani, an ADMK MLA, is foaming in the mouth. He had been close to MGR, he had pulled the crowds. He was a man everyone feared. But Jayalalitha did not give him a ticket for the coming polls. Instead, she nominated his eldest son Inbathamizhan. Furious, he is fighting the elections as an Independent. 'Even at the best of times, Thamarikani could be a difficult customer. Now, he is like a raging bull,' said a police inspector. But Inbathamizhan, a burly 27-year-old, appears nonchalant. 'I'm not scared of my father. I know what he'd be up to and am prepared for it all. He can't take me by surprise.' Ask him if it was not unfair to contest against his father, and he answers 'no' without hesitation. 'Amma knows best. You don't question her decisions. It's my father who's being ungrateful. Whatever name and fame he has achieved, is solely due to the party.' Jaya refused to give a ticket to the 55-year-old Thamaraikani - MLA for five terms who lost only once - as she found his behaviour 'unacceptable'. 'Jaya just can's stand us,' said Thamaraikani. 'I needed the support of a major party in order to do any good to the people. But now she has gone too far, sowing dissent in my own family. She is jealous of those having happy families and tries to destroy them,' he alleged. Some days back, after a much-publicised initiative to stop a herd of cows headed for the slaughterhouse, he had endeared himself with the Sangh Parivar. There was talk of his joining the BJP, but Tamil Nadu leaders reportedly foiled the bid. 'I'm disappointed, but not too bothered. I can fight it out on my own like I did in 1991. People know me and trust me. I'll teach my son a lesson he did not learn when he was with me,' he said. With the father and son fighting it out, the BJP could benefit in the bargain.