TIRUCHY: As the poll dates draw close, the Thiruverumbur constituency is all set for a three-cornered fight between AIADMK, DMK and MNM.
Known as the industrial hub of Tiruchy district, the Thiruverumbur Assembly is bracing itself for a cliffhanger in the April 6 polls. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi (43), the incumbent DMK MLA is competing against two-time Tiruchy MP P Kumar (49) of AIADMK and MNM general secretary M Muruganandham (45).
The constituency has both the city corporation limits and village panchayats under its jurisdiction. It has a total of 2,91,891 voters, of which women voters are 1,48,609 and men voters are 1,43,229.
Out of the six elections held in the constituency from 1991, the DMK has won four times, while the AIADMK won it in 1991 and its ally DMDK’s S Senthil Kumar won in 2011.
In the 2006 and 2011 election, DMK candidate KN Sekaran secured a victory for two consecutive terms.
Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, the DMK candidate, is the grandson of former Minister Anbil Dharmalingam and son of former MLA Anbil Poyyamozhi. He is a third-generation politician from his family.
Meet the candidates
The constituency houses various Central government holdings, including the BHEL and Ponmalai railway workshop, and the DMK representative has been known to have a good relationship with the workers of various employee trade unions.
He is also a very close friend of DMK Youth Wing Secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Although, considered an outsider in the 2016 Assembly election, Mahesh who made his electoral debut from the constituency defeated the AIADMK candidate D Kalaichelvan by 15,870 votes.
On the other hand P Kumar, AIADMK Tiruchy Rural South district Secretary and two-time MP from the Tiruchy parliamentary constituency is bagging on his local popularity to beat his counterparts in the election.
Kumar has remained as a popular local figure among the constituency voters, as he has been practicing as an advocate with his office in Ponmalai for more than two decades apart from his political career.
Kumar, who chose to not contest in the 2019 General election, has been actively electioneering in the constituency for over two years anticipating his selection as the candidate.
Similarly, MNM general secretary M Muruganandham has been trying to allure the voters by projecting himself as the only candidate who is the connected to his roots.
Muruganandham, an engineer by profession, has popularized himself among the voters through his various social works and aggressive campaigning.
Instrumental in growing the Makkal Needhi Maiam in the central region, Muruganandham continues to tell the narrative that both dravidian parties have failed to develop Thiruverumbur into an engineer hub.
Local dynamics
While the popularity factor of the three candidates make the contest a neck-to-neck one, the local caste dynamics is expected to not make any impact in the result, as all three major candidates from the constituency are from Kallar community, the predominant community of the voters in the Assembly segment. With all three candidates are expected to pull voters, local political observers predict the contest among them being unpredictable till the last date.
“It will be difficult to predict the winner as both the candidates from the Dravidian majors are extremely popular. Two factors- the vote split by the MNM candidate and the support by the trade unions will determine the winner of the constituency. Candidates from both the parties are going the extra-mile to secure the victory,” said a local expert.
Voice of the people
As part of the demands of the voters from the constituency are concerned, garbage disposal in Ariyamangalam dump-yard and the long awaited service road between the Palpannai and Thuvakudi on the Thanjavur NH remains the major demands.
Re-laying of neighbourhood roads and regular drinking water facilities are the demands of the residents. Also, a section of voters who previously were part of the BHEL auxiliary units expect a revival in their business.
DMK candidate Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said, “Apart from clearing the garbage and finding a solution to the service road issue, we promise that we will help to revive hundreds of auxiliary units around BHEL which had suffered due to no help. Once the DMK comes to power, a standing committee will be created to understand their problems and help in its revival. We will make sure most power projects are provided to BHEL to boost the opportunities for auxiliary units.”
AIADMK candidate P Kumar said, “We will construct a Rs 450-crore elevated corridor between Palpannai and Thuvakudi and make sure the ongoing projects of Ariyamanagalam dump-yard and semi-ring road are completed. We will make sure the Integrated Bus Terminus is constructed and walking tracks are constructed around the water bodies as recreational spaces.”