TIRUCHY: The fight for Tiruchy East constituency is set to be a three-cornered one. Incumbent MLA, Tourism Minister Vellamandi N Natarajan, DMK candidate Inigo Irudayaraj and AMMK’s R Manoharan hope their popularity in the constituency and other factors such as caste, religion and party affiliation will work in their favour.
Known as the most urbanised constituency in the district, Tiruchy East comprises 25 wards of the city corporation. Out of the six elections held since 1991, the constituency has been represented by legislators from both DMK and AIADMK three times each. It is home to major markets, educational institutions and several religious establishments. The seat has a total of 2,54,427 voters, including 1,30,853 women and 1,23,531 men. Communities such as Vellalars, Christians and Muslims live in large numbers in the constituency.
Vellamandi N Natarajan (71), the AIADMK candidate, is contesting for the second consecutive time from the constituency. Though 2016 election was his debut, his past as a trader at Gandhi Market bettered his chances as he comfortably defeated Congress’ Jerome Arockiaraj by a margin of over 20,000 votes. Then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa rewarded him with a Cabinet berth. Though there is a wave of anti-incumbency due to slow progress of developmental projects in the last five years, the minister hopes ‘son of the soil’ sentiment will come to his rescue.
Meanwhile, Inigo Irudayaraj, a new entrant to electoral politics, is betting votes from minority communities. Founder of Christhuva Nallenna Iyakkam, Irudayaraj has familiarised himself with people over the years through his charitable works for Christian and Muslim communities in the constituency. He had maintained close relations with former DMK chief M Karunanidhi and has been passively associated with the party for a long time. In the past, he also played a major role in annual Christmas celebrations on behalf of the DMK.
On the other hand, AMMK’s R Manoharan might spring a surprise by using his vast experience and local popularity, which he gained over the years in the district. He held the post of Tiruchy AIADMK district secretary for over a decade in the past. He served as government chief whip during his tenure as the legislator from the constituency in 2011-2016. Manoharan, who was instrumental in the growth of the AIADMK in the district, was a mentor to Vellamandi N Natarajan earlier and played a major role in his victorious campaign in the 2016 election. In 2011, when he contested on an AIADMK ticket, Manoharan had defeated DMK’s Anbil Periyasamy by a margin of 20,804 votes.
With all the three candidates riding on their personal strengths in the constituency, local political observers predict an unpredictable competition in the constituency, as each of them will try to eat into the others’ vote banks. “There is no particular community of voters in the constituency which any of the three candidates can be confident about. While the minorities’ votes will split between all the three, the AIADMK votes will split between Natarajan and Manoharan. It will be difficult to predict the winner beforehand,” said an expert.
With regard to people’s demands, they urge the authorities to complete various development projects that have started but not been completed yet. Roads have not been re-laid in a longtime, underground drainage works which started at least five years ago are still continuing at a snail pace and traffic congestion remains unchecked.
These issues apart, Gandhi Market still remains a source of major tug-of-war between locals and traders. The residents want the market shifted to some other place, while traders are against such a move. The recent announcement by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami of not shifting the market to a new place has also added fuel to the fire, as it was met with strong objection from resident associations and social activists.