TIRUCHY: In party meetings, the late chief minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi used to say, “Thiruppumunai tharum Tiruchy” (Tiruchy leads to a turning point). To whom this time is the question haunting politicians in the Rockfort constituency.
Tiruchy is witnessing a fierce contest between MDMK (DMK alliance) chief Vaiko’s son Durai Vaiko and AIADMK candidate P Karuppaiah, brother of Karikalan who is under the ED scanner for alleged illegal sand mining.
Despite being a senior leader, the incumbent MP Su Thirunavukkarasar failed to retain the ticket for Congress. “Our sitting MP didn’t come and visit the constituency even during the Covid-19 days when people were in dire need of essential commodities and services. If the Congressman had been fielded here again, we would have overthrown him without any second thought,” said Githish (name changed) of Marsingpet in Tiruchy who is also a DMK supporter.
This is the level of anti-incumbency sentiment among the voters in the constituency. The DMK alliance thus allotted the seat to MDMK and the party has fielded party chief Vaiko’s son Durai Vaiko (51), a debutant to electoral politics who is contesting on an independent symbol of Match Box.
“This is a way better choice as his (Durai Vaiko) father’s image among the public itself would garner many votes,” said Githish.
However, this doesn’t mean Tiruchy will be an easy win for the INDIA bloc. His actions clearly show that he is a fresher. For instance, in an alliance functionaries’ meeting which was attended by three ministers — K N Nehru, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi and S Regupathy — and thousands of DMK functionaries, some of them urged Durai to contest on the DMK’s Rising Sun symbol for an easy victory.
The newbie turned all red and punched on the bench to mark his displeasure. Later, an angry Durai declared he would contest only on a different symbol even if that cost his life. The ministers and other functionaries were visibly disturbed because of this and it took them a few days to sort things out with the alliance partner.
Meanwhile, Karuppaiah had gone ahead with his campaigns. He has the strong backing of former health minister C Vijayabaskar and enjoys the support of a vibrant team. In the BJP alliance, AMMK has fielded P Senthilnathan (47), who resigned from the Tiruchy city councillor post to contest for the MP seat. However, he is unlikely to secure considerable votes as the party has no much backing here.
Members from Kallar, Mutharaiyars, Vellalars, and Devandrakula Vellalar communities constitute a significant population in the constituency. While Karuppaiah hails from the dominant Kallar community and is a native of Pudukkottai, Durai Vaiko does not specify his caste.
Though the AIADMK candidate clearly holds an upper hand in his community, he has been striving hard to win the trust of Muslims and Christians by promising to uphold secular values. SDPI, their ally, is helping them in the process.
The DMK alliance, however, enjoys the support of the minority communities, which is the major strength of Durai Vaiko. The powerful ministerial team of DMK is in the field to ensure Durai’s victory. The only challenge he faces is regarding the popularisation of his ‘match box’ symbol.
In the 2019 election, Su Thirunavukkarasar won with a whopping 4.60 lakh vote margin, one of the highest margins for the party all over India. But the MP could not make the most of this as people complained of his absence in the constituency. Additionally, his relationship with the DMK leaders here has not been smooth.
A DMK functionary, seeking anonymity, said, “The shortcomings including the new symbol, may decrease our vote share but Durai Vaiko will win. The state government’s development projects in Tiruchy such as bus terminus, transportation hub, sports stadium, market complex, and others will get converted into votes.”
The constituency is home to thousands of working-class people as several public sector enterprises, including BHEL, OFT and HAPP, and the famous Ponmalai railway workshop are located here. Labour unions of the DMK and Left parties are active too. There is a demand for airport runway expansion which can accommodate wide body aircrafts to increase connectivity from various parts of the world, further developing tourism in the region.
Demand for an intercity express train from Tiruchy to Bengaluru is another major demand of the voters as workers and businesspersons frequently travel to this city.
There is also a long pending demand of train connectivity from Pudukkottai to Thanjavur. “This connectivity would be a huge relief to the workers who travel to and fro every day,” said Kannan, a resident of Pudukkottai. He added that establishing cashew and flower processing factories would help in improving the local economy.
