CHENNAI: Radhakrishnan Nagar (RK Nagar) is a star constituency with a strong ‘Amma’ connect - late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa won twice from here.
In 2017, after her demise, her “political heir” TTV Dhinakaran won from here with a landslide victory, just like the former Chief Minister.
For 20 years now, the DMK has been out of the picture here. The last time they won was in 1996. Though the AIADMK lost to Dhinakaran in 2017, the constituency remains an AIADMK bastion.
The sitting MLA, Dhinakaran, isn’t popular anymore, say locals, explaining that he neither visited the constituency after his win, not kept his promises.
“He just won for his political ambition to get into the Assembly,” many people in the constituency said. AIADMK’s candidate, RS Raajesh, during his campaign, dared Dhinakaran to enter RK Nagar.
“I dare him to show his face, even at the border. He did nothing here. What will he do for Kovilpatti (where Dhinakaran is contesting)?,” he asked.
Dhinakaran’s party, the AMMK, has fielded Dr P Kalidas in RK Nagar. It is also observed that the DMK, which lost its deposit in the 2017 bypoll, was not expecting a victory, and fielded a greenhorn, which intensified the battle between Dhinakaran and the AIADMK.
RK Nagar is also the home constituency of veteran AIADMK leader E Madusudanan, who lost to Dhinakaran in the bypoll.
Madusudanan’s protege Sekar Babu, who is now a DMK MLA from Harbour, also contested for the AIADMK in RK Nagar and won twice, before moving to the DMK in 2011.
In 2011, AIADMK candidate P Vetrivel defeated Sekar Babu by 40,000 votes.
Despite him winning twice under the two-leaves symbol, Sekar Babu, who contested for the third time in RK Nagar in 2011, under the rising sun symbol, lost to the AIADMK.
This showed that irrespective of the candidate, people simply voted for the two-leaves symbol and Jayalalithaa.
Subsequently, Vetrivel vacated the seat for the 2015 by-election, for Jayalaithaa, who won with a landslide margin of 1,51,000 votes.
In 2016, Jayalithaa made RK Nagar her home constituency, and won by 40,000 votes against the DMK’s Shimla Muthuchozhan. In the 2017 by-election, Dhinakaran defeated E Madusudanan by 40,000 votes.
This time, however, the DMK is keen on regaining the constituency. The DMK and AIADMK have fielded relatively-new faces.
From the DMK, it’s the party’ North Chennai Youth Wing Organiser JJ Ebenezer, a grassroot cadre. The AIADMK, meanwhile, fielded its North Chennai (East) district secretary RS Raajesh.
“I’m an ordinary cadre here and have served the party for 25 years in various posts. We have been on the ground doing Covid relief work, and noticed a strong Stalin wave,” 45-year-old Ebenezer told Express, adding that he would work to resolve the constituency’s traffic and employment issues.
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Meanwhile, the AIADMK’s 48-year-old RS Raajesh said he would convert RK Nagar into a hi-tech hub.
“This constituency is closely associated with Amma and people know the policies she wanted to implement here,” Raajesh added.
The constituency consists mainly of a working-class population with Scheduled Castes, Muslims, Christians and Other Backward Communities.
When Express visited the constituency, the key issues were found to be water supply, unemployment, and the high cost of gas and petrol.
Saridha S, who owns a cloth-ironing shop, said that at times, Metro Water supply is provided only once in four days.
Many residents rued the high cost of gas, and questioned the electoral promises of free cylinders.
“Why isn’t the government giving free cylinders before the election?” they asked. Another resident, Vimala S, from Korukkupet, said most youngsters in her colony are unemployed.
“We have not got any financial aid in the wake of Covid too,” she added.