Chennai: An interesting four-cornered contest is on the cards in Kattumannarkoil Assembly constituency with VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan having a slight edge over others as he enjoys Dalits and Muslim support.
Thirumavalavan may face the toughest challenge from Congress candidate K.I. Manirathinam, a local heavyweight and a philanthropist, while other candidates are sitting AIADMK MLA N. Murugumaran and PMK’s candidate A. Sozhan.
Katturmannarkoil which comes under Chidambaram Lok Sabha constituency, has always favoured Thirumavalavan in the parliamentary elections. Irrespective of the election results, he was able to secure more votes in Kattumannarkoil Assembly segment in the last three Lok Sabha polls since 2004. Even when loosing to AIADMK’s M. Chandrakasi in Chidambaram constituency in 2014 LS elections, Thirumavalavan had led in Kattumannarkoil segment with 8,000 votes more than the winner.
He enjoys full support of Dalits where he was credited for helping them fight against caste discrimination by Vanniyars and other caste Hindus. “He is the leader who brought our self esteem back. With the support of his party, we are fighting injustice meted out against us,”said K. Selvi of Uttamasolagam. The dalit leader also enjoys support of Muslims who constitute the third largest in terms of population in the constituency after Dalits and Vanniyars.
Congress candidate Manirathinem has earned a good name by his philanthropy through a trust. His move to join PMK in the run up to 2014 Lok Sabha polls after being denied ticket in Congress dented his image. His wife Sudha, who contested LS polls, ended up third. Now he is back in Congress to contest the Assembly polls hoping to get a portion of Dalit and Vanniyar votes.
The sitting AIADMK MLA Murugumaran, who is seeking re-election, has earned the wrath of a cross section of voters for his non performance. “The biggest problem in our constituency is no water availability for agriculture despite Veeranam tank located in the constituency. Unemployment is another major issue. He had not done anything on this issue,” said Mahalingam, a retired BSNL employee at Kattumannarkoil. He also failed to fulfill his promise for setting up scent factory, he said, adding that the MLA’s only accomplishment is setting up of an ITI and opening of a bus depot besides constructing a bus stand. The PMK is solely betting on his Vanniyar support base to win the election. All candidates promise to get the farmers’ rightful share of water from Veeranam tank.
