KANNIYAKUMARI: Vijay Vasanth, son of late Kanniyakumari MP H Vasanthakumar, has been catapulted to the political arena with the Congress announcing him as the candidate for Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha constituency bypolls. The 37-year-old, who is married and has two kids, says he starts his day at 6 am, plans campaign strategy with party functionaries before leaving for the field at 9 am.
In a freewheeling chat with Express amid his busy campaign schedule, Vasanth talks about his candidature, taking care of his father’s business empire – Vasanth & Co, fighting veteran politician Pon Radhakrishnan in polls, and dynasty politics.
The Kanniyakumari constituency was last represented by his father H Vasanthakumar before he succumbed to Covid-19 in August 2020. When asked why he wanted to contest from the seat, Vasanth’s immediate response was “It is my duty to fulfil the dreams of my father.”
“From the time when he resigned as MLA of Nanguneri after his election to Lok Sabha for the first time, he would discuss his plans and schemes that he wanted to implement in the constituency. But unfortunately, he died as a Covid warrior even while he continued distributing relief works to the constituency people. After his death, I decided to fulfil his dreams,” says Vasanth, who is also known as Vijayakumar.
In the past, he has donned the roles of actor and entrepreneur. When asked about his transition as a politician, he philosophically says everything is a challenge. “When I was pursuing MA in International Business Administration at Regents Business School in London, my father was contesting 2006 Nanguneri Assembly elections. All of the sudden, he decided to leave his chain of businesses to me so that he could turn a full-time politician. I took up the business. Then, an opportunity to act in films came my way.
Though it was accidental, I just wanted to give it my 100 per cent. In the meantime, I was also interested in politics. I was an AICC member and was helping my father in his political activities. Recognising my work, the party high command made me general secretary of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee,” he says adding, “So, my transition from a businessman to an actor and then to a politician was a process of learning.”
Vasanth is fighting BJP candidate Pon Radhakrishnan, who is a seasoned politician. “I know that Radhakrishnan had been a tough rival to my uncle Kumari Anandan, my father Vasanthakumar, and now to myself. He has contested polls nine times. He has been a minister twice. But, my father defeated him by a huge margin (of votes). And now, I do not see it as Vijayakumar versus Ponnar. It’s Congress versus BJP. I am contesting as a representative of Congress. I take up this fight with the support of alliance parties, people, and discontent against BJP, and things are in our favour,” Vijayakumar said.
Saying that Ponnar, as Pon Radhakrishnan is popularly referred to, had brought schemes to Kanniyakumari, Vijay Vasanth questions the way they were implemented. The flyovers built during his period are unnecessary and don’t serve the purpose. People in the constituency never accept division (of people) in the name of religion, the kind that is being taken forth by the BJP, he says. “They rejected Ponnar in the last elections, and they will reject him this time too.”
On his father’s promises, Vasanth says, “I remember them. I will work to fulfil his promise to establish a rubber park, and bring Kanniyakumari railways under Madurai division. Also, I will make efforts to transfer the control of Padmanabapuram palace to Tamil Nadu government from Kerala government.
When questioned whether he believes that the sympathy factor will work after his father’s demise, Vasanth says, “It is not sympathy. It is the love that the people have for my father. He had deep contacts in every region of the constituency.
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People respected him and one could see it from the reception I get from people wherever I go for campaign. Right from Kamarajar and Indira Gandhi period, now till Rahul Gandhi period, Kanniyakumari has always been a bastion of Congress.” When the conversation turned to dynasty politics, which the BJP rakes up against him, Vasanth retorts, “When I was looking after my father’s business, nobody complained. A doctor’s son can become a doctor, and an advocate can get his son into his profession. Every political party selects candidates based on several criteria and the hard work they have done,. It is not because of the ‘son’ factor. I too can name several BJP leaders, who have brought their children into power politics.”