VILLUPURAM: With just a day to go for the election, the voter mood in Villupuram town is swaying in a three-cornered contest between the DMK, AIADMK and TVK. With the last leg of campaign rallies under way in the town, residents expressed dissent against the DMK government for not providing basic amenities in Dalit residential areas such as Valudareddy and GRP Street.
Both areas, which have nearly 3,000 voters each, still lack proper drinking water facilities, roads and infrastructure. With dense populations and cramped housing, the localities almost sink during peak monsoon periods, but mitigation has not been carried out through proper infrastructure development.
A Arumugam (55), a resident of Annai Indira Nagar, said, “We need to fetch water from a common pipe, so we go there as early as 4 am. This lifestyle, driven by lack of amenities, makes us wonder if we really live in the modern era.”
Meanwhile, young supporters of TVK in both areas criticised the DMK and AIADMK for playing “cunning” politics over the years. They are also influencing their parents to vote for actor-turned-politician Vijay’s whistle symbol, seeking “a fresh political space devoid of caste equations”.
“Both parties ruled us for so long, but I am still stigmatised for coming from a ‘colony’. My neighbourhood is not hygienic, decent or healthy. Whose fault is it, and why should we choose them again now? They claim social justice and equality, but in reality they do not live up to it. We don’t want to support such cunning politics,” said Kumudha (22, name changed), a resident of GRP Street and a member of TVK.
Even cadres within the DMK raised opposition to Lakshmanan canvassing in GRP Street, alleging that he betrayed former MLA S Pushparaj by not facilitating him a seat in Vanur in this Assembly election. Several supporters of the latter pointed out that Dalit emancipation has not been enabled by either AIADMK or DMK leaders in Villupuram due to casteist intentions.
In a video circulating on social media, a DMK supporter was heard saying, “Only he (Lakshmanan) wants to be minister and MLA. Why not a Scheduled Caste person come to power?”
“Pushparaj, a Dalit politician, is a resident of Villupuram. If he becomes an MLA in Vanur, that would mean social empowerment of Dalits not only in Vanur but also in Villupuram town. This is essentially a problem for dominant caste politicians in Villupuram, and the town is entrenched in casteist politics that does not allow a Dalit person to rise within party structures, especially in the DMK,” said P K Diwakar (32).
This is no different in the AIADMK. “I have been working in the party for the last 19 years, but former minister C Ve Shanmugam has not visited or even asked me about deaths in my family. Their Dalit aversion is so evident that I decided to quit politics altogether,” said a 56-year-old Dalit block-level cadre in the AIADMK from Villupuram (on condition of anonymity).
Speaking to TNIE, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) district secretary R Periyar said the current DMK MLA had provided welfare measures to Valudareddy, including an anganwadi building, two fair price shops, a cremation shelter and borewell mechanisms that are yet to be made operational for public use.
He added that though development for Dalit residents in the town is not adequate, it is important to consider the consequences of supporting the AIADMK, which would indirectly mean supporting the BJP.
“VCK cadres will work for the victory of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance in Villupuram constituency,” he said.
Though there is a broader sentiment favouring the DMK, such nuanced emotions among Dalit residents, whose votes could decide the outcome in Villupuram, cannot be overlooked. With youngsters leaning towards TVK, some elders shifting support to the AIADMK, and growing dissent against the DMK MLA, the contest is likely to be closely fought with narrow margins.