CHENNAI: As 51-year-old Porkodi Armstrong, the AIADMK-led NDA’s candidate, campaigns door-to-door in her Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, two things stand out.
One is her three-year-old daughter Savitribhai Armstrong, whose presence is impossible to miss. The other is the ideological dissonance of the blue flags of Porkodi’s Tamil Maanila Bahujan Samaj Katchi (TMBSK) – whose rallying cry is the anti-caste and anti-communal ‘Jai Bhim’ – coming together with the saffron flags of the BJP, which often invokes the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chant.
At the centre of this negotiated understanding is Porkodi herself and her quest for justice for the assassination of her husband K Armstrong. The 52-year-old advocate, a staunch Ambedkarite and state president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), was murdered by an armed gang on July 5, 2024. BSP chief Mayawati came to Chennai to pay her last respects to Armstrong, the only known face of the TN unit for many years. Subsequent attempts by a section of people to take control of the unit led Porkodi to launch the TMBSK.
As she campaigns along the narrow lanes of the Mettupalayam locality in her constituency, her toddler in her arms, she is also pressing for answers. “The voters in this constituency are my route to justice for my family. And I’m theirs,” she tells TNIE.
The Greater Chennai Police, which investigated the case, have filed the chargesheet. However, Porkodi and Armstrong’s supporters demand a fresh CBI inquiry, stating that the police probe failed to identify the real motive and the culprits behind the murder.
Her close aides and party members say they have found a middle ground with the NDA alliance despite their differences.
Michael Doss, a party functionary, says their cadre, who were close to Armstrong, trained in BSP camps and are staunch ideologues. “It was not easy for them initially to accept this alliance but after several interactions with madam (Porkodi), they have understood its importance,” Doss explains.
These differences do not concern Savitribai, who is out with her mother for most of the gruelling campaign that starts early in the morning and ends late in the evening every day. “Jai Bhim,” she says, distributing pamphlets carrying images of her parents, Dr BR Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, at the houses of BJP and NDA supporters.
She is quickly recognised by residents amid the sea of campaigners. A shopkeeper at a petty shop recalls seeing her as a one-year-old while he watched Armstrong’s funeral as it was livestreamed. “I almost teared up,” he says.
“Savitri is the spitting image of her father, very vocal and at home in a crowd. She is also a reminder,” says party man and family friend Shyam Raj. Her mother, on the contrary, is shy and doesn’t speak unless necessary. “It took her some time to get used to being surrounded by hundreds of people,” Raj says. Porkodi, in her own words, may have been content living a ‘family life’, had Armstrong been alive. Now she has no choice, her supporters say.
“You don’t worry, you’ll find justice. We’re with you.”
“As a woman, I fully understand what you’ve gone through; I hope you will stand by us the same way. We are proud to see you come this far.”“Don’t say Armstrong is gone, he’s still with us.”
She receives this outpouring from emotional voters with measured restraint, holding their hands, offering reassurances, trying not to let it crack her composure.
As TNIE followed Porkodi through a constituency where almost everyone knew Armstrong, the other contradiction on display is the empathy extended to her cause by people whose loyalties lie with parties in the opposite camps.
“I’m a TVK supporter but what happened to Armstrong was unacceptable. My vote is for Porkodi,” says 29-year-old Sabareesan, who drives taxis for a living.
As her campaign moves to Pattalam, she runs into people who recall their interactions with Armstrong. She also runs into a DMK worker who declares his party affiliation, almost apologetically, but pledges his support “in whatever way he can”.
It may be too early to tell if she has enough support for a victory in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar where the DMK won in 2016 and 2021, the latter by a huge victory margin of 41.5% over the AIADMK.
The AIADMK’s Mukundan Gopal, who played a key role in rallying support for her in his party, is confident of her victory on the Dravidian major’s ‘Two Leaves’ symbol.
Porkodi, for now, says she is grateful for the experience. “I have listened to my husband talk about the living conditions of our people. I am able to witness it firsthand now. Near Otteri, there are families living right beside flowing drainage, eating and washing clothes. There were many things my husband wanted to do for them. I will try to fulfil them if I get the opportunity,” she says.