CHENNAI: As night falls in Kodungaiyur, a strong and familiar stench fills the air, and 43-year-old S Saratha wakes up in the middle of the night once again. Her nostrils fill with smoke, but she already knows where the fire is. For the mother of two, and thousands of others who live near the 342.9-acre Kodungaiyur dumping yard in the Perambur Assembly constituency, the smoke from garbage burning has been a source of various health issues for several years.
“We used to often wake up in the middle of the night because of the smoke,” she told TNIE. Although the Greater Chennai Corporation staff have now told her that burning has been replaced by biomining, Saratha does not want to have her hopes high.
This apart, in the nearby areas, including the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) apartments in Mullai Nagar and Vyasarpadi, the prevalence of ganja has become a major menace.
“It is still common for girls to get married off even before the age of 18, mainly as a ‘safety measure’. The drug menace and associated crimes require immediate attention. We have to see if Vijay anna can bring about some change,” said S Shanthi (33) of Mullai Nagar.
TNIE’s field visits showed that Shanthi is one among many in the region who are inclined to repose their faith in the new entrant — actor and TVK president C Joseph Vijay, who is contesting from the seat.
Perambur is sandwiched between Kolathur on the left and Dr Radhakrishan Nagar on the right. The constituency largely comprises daily wage workers and lower middle class households, accounting for nearly 70%–75% of the population. It also has a significant presence of religious minorities (about 10%–15%) particularly Christians.
TVK chief Vijay is contesting from two seats — Perambur and Tiruchy (East) — both believed to have been chosen carefully for their demography and chances of victory.
Local TVK supporters claim that the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam — the actor-politician’s fan club that went on to become TVK — has around 76,000 registered members in the constituency that has a total of 2.2 lakh voters. According to them, of these members, about 45,000 have enrolled with the party through its ‘My TVK’ mobile application.
As for Perambur’s election history, the DMK won in 2019 and 2021 with a vote share of more than 50% while the AIADMK’s vote share were just 20.3% and 25.3% respectively.
This decline was accompanied by a notable endorsement of those projecting as alternatives to the Dravidian majors. In 2019, actor and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan’s then debutante party MNM secured 10.9% vote share, while Seeman’s NTK secured 4.6%. In 2021, the two parties secured a combined vote share of 18.6% (MNM, 8.6% and NTK, 10%). This could have been a key factor in Vijay’s decision to choose Perambur.
R Raja from Vyasarpadi said that though he votes for the AIADMK usually, he chose others in 2019 and 2021. “I haven’t decided yet, but this time a change is needed. Vijay could win,” he said.
Meanwhile, the work done by the DMK was also recognised by many in the constituency, which may help the party retain its core voter base. The constituency, due to its socio-economic profile, stands out for having one of the highest numbers of beneficiaries under various social welfare schemes.
The DMK has renominated its sitting MLA, R D Sekar, while, interestingly, the AIADMK has allotted the constituency to its ally PMK, which has contested only once from Perambur (in 2016) and secured a meagre 1.95% votes. The party has fielded its treasurer M Thilakabama. The NTK has fielded S Vetri Thamizhan. A total of 49 candidates are in the fray.
Sekar, who is said to have maintained strong grassroots connections cutting across caste and class lines, is confident of the DMK’s hat-trick victory. The party’s organisational strength and his local presence are seen as his edge over Vijay’s sheer popularity.