The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : India shining, foreign origin are no issues here

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 02, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

India shining, foreign origin are no issues here

By S. Annamalai

The president of an all-India party, a Communist veteran and a greenhorn are locked in an interesting contest in the predominantly urban Madurai Lok Sabha constituency. Madurai has the distinction of sending only nominees of national parties or regional parties with a national outlook (as was the Tamil Maanila Congress) to the Lok Sabha.

The Congress has won from here eight times, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) twice, the Communist Party of India, the Janata Party and the TMC once each.

Now in the fray are the Janata Party president, Subramanian Swamy; the member of the 13th Lok Sabha, P. Mohan of the CPI (M); and A.K. Bose of the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Also in the field are 12 others including S. Radhakrishnan of the Bahujan Samaj Party and P. Sakthivel of the Dalit Panthers Iyakkam, contesting on the Janata Dal (United) symbol.

A majority of the voters who depend on agriculture and mill employment are a frustrated lot. Monsoon has betrayed the region for the past five years and the sick list of textile and sugar mills is growing by the day. "Sonia Gandhi is of foreign origin. India is shining. So what?" This is the response of the average voter to the election campaign. He is concerned about bread and butter issues in the six Assembly segments of Madurai East, West and Central, Melur, Tirupparankunram and Samayanallur.

The undue delay in restoring the level of the Periyar dam (to 152 feet from 136 now), closure of cooperative textile and sugar mills and the absence of concrete steps to revive the handloom units at Sellur and Avaniapuram have added to the woes of the people.

The otherwise fertile Melur area has only a scorched earth. Paddy and sugarcane crops have failed, triggering an exodus of villagers to other districts in search of employment.

In some places, farmers do not have water and fodder to feed livestock.

In the Tirupparankunram and Samayanallur segments, there is a distinct anti-incumbency factor. Five of the six Assembly segments now have AIADMK representatives.

Madurai East has a concentration of Sourashtra population, which constitutes supporters of the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the CPI (M) and the Janata Party.

The voters say the "double anti-incumbency factor" will be tangible in Madurai West and Central, with a predominant middle class population.

The residents still remember the improvements done to the city's infrastructure by the former Speaker, P. T. R. Palanivel Rajan, who represented Madurai West in the last Assembly.

Mukkulathors are in a majority in the constituency, followed by Dalits, Naidus, Yadavs, Sourashtrians and Muslims.

Dr. Swamy is meeting residents of remote villages and addressing meetings, without much fanfare. "Swamy is a doer" is the slogan of the Janata Party. He promises to modernise education, eliminate `kattapanchayat' and proceed against the corrupt, besides building a world-class cricket stadium for one-day internationals. He has filed a case in the Supreme Court seeking restoration of the full level of the Periyar dam. In the last few years, people have approached him even to get the bodies of deceased relatives transhipped from several countries. Dr. Swamy quips that he has become "the undertaker of Madurai".

Mr. Mohan's campaign style is a reflection of his personality. Devoid of paraphernalia, he has been approaching the voters with a strong hope of retaining the seat, on the strength of the "formidable" alliance. His "common man" image has gone down well with the urbanites. The presence of a large number of government employees and teachers in five of the six Assembly segments is an advantage to him. All trade unions are fully involved in his campaign.

Mr. Bose is heavily relying on the charisma of his leader, Jayalalithaa, and the `Two Leaves' symbol. Attempts are also made by the AIADMK, which is contesting the seat for the first time, to woo self-help groups in rural areas.

In the 1999 election, Mr. Mohan, supported by the AIADMK, won the seat with a tally of 3,28,204 votes, defeating Pon. Muthuramalingam of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, who polled 2,90,981 votes. A. G. S. Rambabu, TMC candidate, got 89,973 votes and Dr. Swamy, 20,489.

This time, there is no reason to believe that Madurai's record of choosing the candidate of a national party will change.

Total electorate: 13,42,587 (men 6,68,731and women 6,73,856).

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