VRIDHACHALAM: That the people Virudhachalam, the Assembly constituency that returned DMDMK supremo to Fort St George, are no more with their MLA should come as good news for the AIADMK and Congress.
Though K S Azhagiri of the Congress and M C Sampath of the AIADMK are seen as the main contestants for the Cuddalore Lok Sabha seat, there was a bit of a fear over Vridhachalam Assembly segment. For they thought voters of Vridhachalam may favour MDMK’s M C Damodaran, who happens to be the brother of Sampath, and in the process they might lose their votes.
But the ground reality is different. Three years after the Assembly elections, the people are a disillusioned lot. The say that Captain has not honoured his poll promises. Moreover, a large section of the locals feel that the actor turned politician is totally inaccessible to them, as he is not available in the constituency most of the time, preferring to stay away in Chennai.
“I am seeing Vijaykanth only in cinema halls, after he got elected as a MLA,” said M Arumugam, a farmer in Karkudal village, in Kamapuram Panchayat Union. He said, “I happened to see him once during his election campaign three years back. Again, I was able to watch him only on the silver screen, thanks to his latest movie ‘Mariyadhai’.”
Despite, being a hardcore Communist, Arumugam claims that he had voted for Vijayakant, hoping that he would bring about a change. “But the actor has betrayed us, just like any other politician,” he lamented.
In 2006, Vijaykanth surprised everyone by opting to contest from Vridhachalam, though the constituency is a stronghold of the PMK. But he endeared himself to the voters by making several promises like two milch cows for every family, creation of employment opportunities foro educated and uneducated local youths and so on.
But he failed to keep his words, says Vetrivelu, a Diploma holder at Devankudi village. “The youth were hopeful of a renaissance if Vijaykanth was voted to the Assembly but now they regret having cast their vote for him,” he says. Though the DMDK leader had set up computer and tailoring training institutes in few places and has augmented cement roads in some other villages, the people in general feel let down.
Most of the people feel that Vijaykanth is acting as an outsider, failing to meet the demands from the local and redressing their grievances. “It seems our MLA has forgotten the constituency,” commented Pillai Padayatchi, an elderly person at Vijayamanagaram village.
