KARAIKUDI: The red soil and the bright sun dominate vast lands between the villages and towns of Sivaganga district. But now, only thorny shrubs grow out of this soil, acres after acres. Farmers say letting the thorny shrubs grow and eat up the nutrients of the soil is a difficult, but inevitable, choice. Rainfall has been scanty for at least the last three years and no alternative irrigation source exists to carry out farming. As the land remains unused, only invasive thorny shrubs thrive. Many in this region feel that the difficult choice of letting the shrubs grow is almost parallel to the choice they have to make in the Lok Sabha polls. The main reason is the candidates fielded by the State’s two major political fronts in this constituency.
From the DMK-led front, Congress has fielded former union minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram. As part of the AIADMK-led alliance, BJP has fielded H Raja. There are those who want to vote for the Congress since they are upset with PM Narendra Modi’s rule, especially over the fuel and LPG prices. But they wonder why they should elect Karti, whose father P Chidambaram was elected as many as seven times from the constituency but did little for it in return. Besides, Karti Chidambaram lacks a personal connection with the people on the ground and is known for highhanded behaviour.
On the other hand, there are those who want Modi’s rule to continue since they believe that the continuity of his rule is important for development. They believe the bitterness caused by demonetisation and the resultant economic slowdown is only a prelude to the sweeter days that Modi will deliver soon. But H Raja’s history of vitriolic speeches, especially against the minorities, makes many worry if his victory would harm the peace the region enjoys now. In short, the choice of the candidate seems to be the biggest disadvantage for both Congress and BJP.
H Raja is the most popular local politician in Karaikudi town, the biggest in the district. “You can see him often walking among the public just like any other common man in Karaikudi,” says V Selvam, an auto driver. Most people Express spoke to in the town said what they liked about Raja was that he is highly approachable and recalls instances of having seen him walking or riding a scooter on the streets. Most seem to know in which street he resides in Karaikudi and that anyone can meet him there and
Karaikudi’s common man a public concern. His display of simplicity is also seen as an indication that he has not made money out of politics and hence not corrupt. raise
Raja’s image outside Karaikudi is that of a man who does not measure his words and fills them with hatred towards minorities and ideologies opposed to BJP’s. But in Karaikudi town, people are forgiving towards Raja even in this aspect. Rather, they see him as a man who speaks straight from the heart. “He does not hide anything and just pours out his heart. This becomes controversial,” says N Balamurugan, who runs a roadside soup shop.
But Karaikudi town has only about a lakh-odd of about the 13 lakh voters who constitute the Sivaganga parliamentary constituency. Outside Karaikudi, people are not so forgiving towards Raja’s vitriolic speeches. “This place is a peaceful one, even though not much of economic development has happened. My fear is if Raja is voted to power, he will divide people and cause unnecessary tensions. His speeches only attract a particular segment. It’s very uncomfortable to hear him speak on topics dividing people,” says a tea stall owner at Sivaganga, who is a Hindu and wished not to be named.
Hindus are a clear majority in the district, though Muslims and Christians have a visible presence. Temples find a central place in the towns and villages here. People are very religious and in the mornings, almost everyone has either a tilak or the skullcap. But people don’t see religion as a political tool and reason for the choice they make as voters. Hence Raja’s history of speeches against the minorities appears to be his disadvantage outside his home town of Karaikudi.
The high-flying man
Congress’ Karti Chidambaram is also a native of Karaikudi. But people have rarely seen him. There is a perception that he wants to be an MP in order to be shielded from prosecution in several cases against him. But more than Karti, the anger is directed towards his father. “He became an MP from this constituency and became the finance minister of the country. But what did he do for this place? There is no industry or anything here that could bring employment,” says M Alagar, who works as a cobbler in Karaikudi. He says a son will go only his father’s way.
The only thing that Chidambaram has brought to Sivaganga are plenty of banks and ATMs, by leveraging his influence when he was the finance minister, people say. Every other street has a bank and an ATM, and the banks were helpful since women’s self-help groups were liberally granted loans. But the excess dosage of banks is too little — and inappropriate — a solution for the complex problems the district faces. Loans alone will not bring water to irrigate the lands, but a canal or rainwater harvesting systems might help, say people.
More than common voters, many in the Congress party seem to be unhappy with the choice of Karti as the party’s candidate. At least two people told Express that local Congress leaders indicated to them that they can vote as per their choice, rather than canvassing to vote for their party candidate. Within the party circles, there have been stories shared about how Karti would speak disrespectfully towards senior party leaders who are as old as his father. This, they say, explains why Karti secured only 1,04,678 votes in 2014 elections, which is about 33,000 less than what Raja secured, despite Congress enjoying a traditional voter base in the region.
Strength of allies
In the 2014 elections, both BJP and Congress did not ally with either DMK or AIADMK.
The AIADMK candidate won by securing 4,75,993 votes and DMK came second. Raja came third and Karti fourth. It’s clear that both Raja and Karti are this time banking on the support of their allies AIADMK and DMK, the regional parties with a solid vote base. Mohammed Razak, who sells fruits in a roadside shop, says, “I am a hardcore AIADMK man and since the party has tied up with the BJP in this election, I would vote for the BJP candidate.”
Even those traditional AIADMK voters, who are mostly late leader MGR’s fans, say they are going to vote for the BJP only for the development of the country. “They are talking about demolishing mosques and building temples there. It is a sin to do that. A politician must be a man common to all people,” says Alagar, who says he has always voted only for the AIADMK. He reasons that he prefers Modi this time because he had “grabbed all the money from the rich through demonetisation.” He believes the fruits of this will be delivered in the coming years.
Just like him, the dedicated DMK voters also said they will vote for the Congress. But a section of AIADMK’s traditional voters are a little confused about their choice especially because of the turmoil the party underwent after the demise of former CM J Jayalalithaa. “Our entire village was an AIADMK fort. We did not allow other partymen inside. But now those who were AIADMK supporters for decades, are roaming with flags of other parties,” says KPK Udayar, a shepherd in a village in the outskirts of Sivaganga town. Some of them, especially from the Thevar community, prefer AMMK.
As Udayar talks about his dilemma on whom to vote, his goats stray amidst the thorny shrubs looking for vegetation they could eat. Politicians too are now scurrying across Sivaganga to secure power through people’s votes. But none obviously bothered to clear the shrubs. Even if agriculture is not possible, at least it may stop the invasive plant species, which is known to suck out groundwater. Water scarcity in this region is such that people are buying a pot of water from private suppliers at a cost of RS 10 per pot. But the water-guzzling shrubs are allowed to thrive.