Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Popular incumbent faces tough fight

S. Annamalai

Distress sale of farmlands to granite quarries a worrying trend

MADURAI: An intense tussle is on in Melur where the sitting MLA of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), R. Samy, is pitted in a multi-cornered contest against K.V.V. Ravichandran of Congress, S. Purushothaman of Janata Party, C. T. Rajaram of Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam (DMDK), M. Paneerselvam of Bahujan Samaj Party, O. Subramanian of All India Forward Bloc and five independents.

An agriculture-dependent constituency, 80.97 per cent of its work force is into farm activities. It has the distinction of sending P. Kakkan, who later became Home Minister, to the Assembly in 1957.

The seat has been won by family members of K.V. Veeran Ambalam since 1980. He was the winner in 1980 and 1984, followed by his son, K.V.V. Raja Manickam in 1989, 1991 and 1996.

His other son, K.V.V. Ravichandran, is the Congress nominee now. In between, the DMK won the seat in 1967 and 1971, and the AIADMK in 1977 and 2001.

Water availability and employment generation are the two main issues. Restoration of the original level of Periyar dam is much an issue as elsewhere in the southern districts.

Farmers, who were jubilant over the Supreme Court order on increasing the dam level, are keeping their fingers crossed after Kerala Assembly passed a resolution prohibiting any increase in dam level.

Granite mines stretching from Keezhavalavu to S.S. Kottai provide employment for hundreds of people. But an ever-expanding mining activity has signalled a corresponding decline in area of cultivation.

In the last five years, there has been distress as well as forced sale of farmlands to granite quarries, residents point out. People in Melur and surrounding villages complain of a `mafia-type katta panchayat' spreading like virus.

There have been many instances of forcible transfer of land, often using forged documents, filing of cases and violent attack on innocents.

They want a representative who could effectively put an end to this recent development.

The sitting MLA is a popular figure, whose work is acknowledged well by residents, cutting across party lines.

In the 2001 election, he defeated the DMK nominee, Samayanallur S. Selvaraj, by a margin of 26,838 votes. But, to retain the seat, he has to fight against the arithmetic magic in a constituency where the Communist Party of India (Marxist) also has a visible presence.

The Janata Party and the DMDK have the potential to eat into the votes of the Congress and AIADMK.

The Congress, Tamil Manila Congress or their allies have won the seat in nine of the 12 elections held since 1951.

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