THANJAVUR : In the scorching summer sun, Vijayakumar of Neivasal Natham village sprayed fertilizer on his paddy crop. “I bought this fertilizer on credit,” said Vijayakumar. “Farmers are burdened by debt and we did not get a fair price for the paddy as assured by the National Farmers commission,” he said, adding that farmers in the Thanjavur Lok Sabha constituency were looking for a change.
It will be an intense, three-cornered fight between DMK, AMMK and AIADMK’s ally TMC for the seat this time, and farmers will play a major role in the electoral outcome in the heart of the Cauvery delta region. TMC’s N R Natarajan, a builder, and AMMK’s P Murugesan, chancellor of a deemed university, are facing veteran DMK candidate and former Union Minister for State SS Palanimanickam, who was elected from the constituency five times in a row, last in 2009. Interestingly, caste may not be as much of an issue here as the three candidates belong to the Mukkulothor community, which has a large presence in the area.
While the region was originally a Congress stronghold, voters shifted allegiance to the DMK over the years. Out of 18 LS polls, Thanjavur constituency returned Congress candidates nine times, last time being in 1991. The constituency returned DMK candidates seven times. The AIADMK has won here only twice: in 1977 and 2014. It is also to the DMK’s advantage that the TMC and AMMK were allotted their election symbol only days ago.
Still, in the 2016 elections to the six Assembly seats coming under the LS constituency, AIADMK won in Thanjavur, Pattukkottai and Peravurani while the DMK won the Tiruvaiyaru, Orathanadu and Mannargudi Assembly segments. This indicates that victory is not necessarily out of reach for the ruling party in the constituency where the handling of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cyclone Gaja are key electoral issues.
The Authority was formed as per the Supreme Court verdict, but farmers feel the body is “toothless”.
“They did not take steps to release water as per the Supreme Court orders for the months of October (22TMC), November (15TMC), January (3TMC), February (2.5TMC),” says P Sukumar, a farmer of Tirupoonthurthi. Sukumar has approached the Madras High Court as his crop insurance claim was denied. “The assessment of crop loss is faulty,” says Sukumar. “Many farmers have not got the insurance money in 2016-17 and 2017-18. These are issues that could play a role in the elections.”
The Gaja cyclone, which devastated the region, looms large. There is discontent against the local administration based on the perception that relief has only partially been disbursed. Rajangam, reading the day’s newspaper at a local tea stall at Mela Uloor in Orathanadu constituency, for instance, said many were left out from the Gaja relief distribution. Many like him from Peravurani, Pattukkottai also complained about faulty enumeration. Sethuraman, an activist from Mannargudi, said licence to extract hydrocarbon, in a large swathe of area beginning from Mannargudi, had also created apprehensions among farmers. This, too, would have an impact on the elections, he said.
Others felt the absence of much-loved leaders. “I really miss our late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa,” says Sengayee, a septuagenarian farm labourer collecting and drying black gram seeds on Thanjavur-Pattukkottai road. “Till the last elections, I voted for her. This time we need a change.” Not all agree though. Singaram, a farmer in the same area, weighs in: “The local representative of the ruling party is approachable.” A woman with Sengayee said she and others like her would take money from whichever party distributed it but would ultimately vote their choice.
While the DMK appears to have an advantage in the constituency, the AMMK, which has good cadre-strength here, could play spoilsport: The AIADMK will have to fight to retain its voter base, while the DMK may lose any anti-government voters to the newcomer.
The contest is equally intense for the Thanjavur Assembly bypoll, being held simultaneously, in which the three parties are the main contenders. The Thanjavur Lok Sabha constituency, which has been in existence since the first general elections in 1952 albeit some changes following the last delimitation, comprises six Assembly segments. Interestingly, the first person to represent this constituency in the Lok Sabha was former President of India R Venkatraman.
DMK| Will work to revive coconut cultivation in delta region: SS Palanimanickam
SS Palanimanickam, the DMK candidate in Thanjavur constituency, said he would work for the rejuvenation of the coconut cultivation which was decimated by Cyclone Gaja. By involving nationalised banks and the Coconut Development Board (CDB), a scheme would be chalked out for reviving the coconut cultivation. Financial assistance would be arranged through nationalised banks as done for setting up of Kurungulam sugarmills.
He also assured the educational loans of the wards of coconut farmers and fishermen would be waived. He also assured to take steps to increase the number of working days under MGNREGA from 100 to 150. Similarly, he promised to stop the exploration of hydrocarbons, and steps to declare the delta districts as protected agriculture zone. He also assured that Bharathi Dasan University College for Women at Orathanadu would be made an exclusive Central University. He also said efforts would be made to set up a second AIIMS at Thanjavur constituency and to upgrade the Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT).
TMC| Delta will be declared as protected agriculture zone: NR Natarajan
NR Natarajan, the TMC candidate, said there were two AIIMS in some States and if there was a provision for one more in Tamil Nadu, he would take steps to set up the same in Thanjavur constituency. The candidate said he would work with the Central and State governments to start industries in Gaja-affected areas to provide employment to the affected people. Natarajan further said since the constituency had a good tourism potential, he would work for improving infrastructure at tourist spots in the constituency. He also promised to work towards waiver of farm loans and declaring the Cauvery delta districts as protected agriculture zone.
AMMK| Pattukottai-Thanjavur-Ariyalur rail line will be made reality: P Murugesan
P Murugesan, the AMMK candidate in Thanjavur Lok Sabha constituency, said he would fight in the Parliament for making the long pending demand for Pattukkottai-Thanjavur-Ariyalur railway line a reality. He assured that he would work for declaring the Cauvery delta districts as protected agricultural zone. He said if he was elected he would spend `1 crore each in the six assembly constituencies in the Thanjavur Lok Sabha seat through Ponniah Ramajeyam Educational Trust for Education, and social welfare and agriculture schemes. He further said he would provide free education to all children in the constituency.