TIRUPPUR: L Murugan walks through AD Colony, braving the summer sun that has already started raising the temperature. He does not mind the fact that there are no proper roads here. He is on a mission to prove his detractors wrong. Murugan has fought elections thrice in the past. But, this is the first time that he will be contesting after becoming the State president of the Centre-ruling party - BJP. In Dharapuram, he will be fighting a fresh face fielded by DMK, Kayalvizhi Selvaraj.
Murugan starts his day early, by 5.30 in the morning. After his chores and prayers invoking his namesake Lord, Murugan, he hits the road at 7.30 am. It helps him meet the elderly and women early in the day, before they get busy with their own activities. On this day, he is scheduled to meet villagers of Mulanur (South Zone) in Dharapuram. Semmankarai, a key spot in the village, has a large group of elderly men gathered. They rush with garland to greet the leader, and respond in affirmative to his request for votes.
‘Namma aalu’
Dharapuram is a reserved segment, with significant population of Arunathiyars, Pallars, Kuravars and other scheduled communities. Having arrived at the temple in Vadapatti village, Murugan makes inquiries about the AD Colony. It’s a kilometre away, to the West from here, respond the village elders. The quick-footed leader does not take long getting there.
The women in the colony are surprised to see him. The organisers of the visit introduce him as “Namma aalu” (one of us). Aratis (customary welcome) follow. “As a field workers, I was always interested in social activities during my early times in Namakkal,” Murugan recalls. He was drawn to politics during his college days, and made the entry through RSS. His wife C Kalaiyarasi and their two sons do not share the same sentiments about politics.
The election schedule is not planned as booth-wise campaigns. Instead, Murugan hits the villages. An average of 40 to 54 village spots are fixed for meetings. Most of the village spots are local temples, or even the under the shade or large trees. He then spends 15 to 20 minutes interacting with the villagers. During breakfast time, he eats with his party-men. Campaigning continues after breakfast, to ensure no spot is left out. The response is reassuring, say his organisers.
While leaving after visiting Sadaiyappan Puthur, an elderly man runs towards Murugan’s car. The driver stops, and Murugan engages in a banter with the elderly man. The man claims to be a relative of the Panchayat President, a member of the Opposition. He says he was abused and hurt by the president’s malpractice, and promises to “secretly” vote for Murugan. They part with the leader assuring to resolve the issue. Murugan interacts with top leaders and candidates of his party after lunch. He claims BJP has made several strategies for the upcoming elections.
‘Naisa unatava’
Murugan’s fluency in Telugu floors many Dalit voters who have settled here from Andhra Pradesh. Murugan, born into a Telugu-speaking family, can speak the language but cannot read or write in it. Speaking to Express, Murugan says the erstwhile Madras State had both Tamil and Telugu speakers. “We are all from South India, and share similar culture.” Murugan’s father was a farmer and mother a homemaker. His brother, who was very dear to him, died four years back in a road accident.
It’s evening, and the mood of the campaign changes completely. It’s time to meet the kids and young voters. Murugan gets into the selfie mode, with school kids, bike mechanics, flower sellers, farm workers, tailors... the list goes on. He makes it a point to stop at tea shops, where crowds gather and have time to spare.
By sunset, he’s on top of his campaign van. He hits key spots, street corners and temple junctions. He launches stinging attack on the Opposition. He promises to bring Arts and Medical colleges to the region. Murugan has several advantages here. One, the alliance with AIADMK has given BJP a better fighting chance. Two, DMK pick for the segment is a fresh face. Three, the locals are reportedly upset with previous MLA, Congressman VS Kalimuthu.
As the BJP president, Murugan does not forget the discourse on religion while making his political pitch. When asked why he chose Dharapuram, he says the initial pick was Avinashi. “But, that segment’s sitting MLA is Speaker P Dhanapal. That is when Dharapuram came up. I consulted party heads and took up on the offer.” It remains to be seen if Dharapuram will return the favour.
NUMBERS SPEAK
Male: 1,26,057
Female: 1,32,480
Third gender: 349
No. polling booths: 349
Total number of voters: 2,58,547