Why TTV Dhinakaran chose to fight from Kovilpatti

The contest for Kovilpatti Assembly seat in Thoothukudi district, in south Tamil Nadu, has turned interesting. Autos, mini-tempos and two-wheelers fitted with colourful flags and huge speakers crisscross the roads of Kovilpatti unlike in other constituencies in the southern part of the state.

“Vote for makkal selvar” tells the voice from an auto, as the black-and-white flag with Jayalalithaa’s image flies high. Behind the auto, comes a barrage of vehicles fitted with AIADMK flags. “Ungal vottu erattai ilaikeey” (your vote for two leaves), they say. And behind the two a thin, frail man in his 60s comes walking with a red shawl draped around his neck. Clad in a white kurta with a long cloth bag hanging on his right shoulder, he is seen seeking votes for the hammer, sickle and star symbol. Popular for peanut candy and matches, Kovilpatti is one of the constituencies that will witness a three-cornered contest, between AIADMK rebel leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, AIADMK Minister Kadambur Raju and CPI(M)’s K. Srinivasan.

Srinivasan and his humble roots

Srinivasan feels the strong Left base and also support of Vaiko’s MDMK will help him garner more votes in the fight against Kadambur Raju and Mannargudi scion T.T.V. Dhinakaran. “I bank on my humble background. People know me as the son of this soil,” he tells while having lunch at Anandha Hotel on the Ettayapuram Main Road in Kovilpatti.

Elected as a councillor three times and the municipal chairman once, Srinivasan is the nammavar (our man) in Kovilpatti. Having set up coaching centres and offering support for the labourers in the matchmaking industry, Srinivasan is confident of pulling off a victory. Srinivasan, who has humble roots, had been working for the labourers from the matchmaking industry in the region, with support from DMK’s Kanimozhi, the MP from the Kovilpatti region. “They are going on strike from tomorrow. I will definitely work to uplift the livelihood of the labourers here,” he tells.

Another strength of Srinivasan is his literary friends in the region. Called as a Karisal bhoomi (drought-stricken) area, Kovilpatti is a land of popular writers. Ki Rajanarayan aka Ki.Ra, Poomani and the latest Sahithya Academy award winner Cho Dharman and the old school popular lyricist Madhurakavi Bhaskara Das have brought out the struggles from this drought-stricken land in their writings. “I don’t believe in caste. This election will tell that Tamil Nadu is above caste. And Kovilpatti with the literary roots will ensure that,” Srinivasan expresses hope. Srinivasan’s added advantage is that the CPI(M) has won this seat seven times earlier.

The man called ‘Kadambur’ Raju

Minister for Information and Publicity in the present AIADMK government, Kadambur Raju is the AIADMK candidate for Kovilpatti. From Kadambur, one of the segments in Kovilpatti constituency, Raju banks on his popularity and also the strength of the AIADMK. Recently, Raju was seeing alleging a murder attempt as Dhinakaran’s AMMK cadres went on to burst crackers near his car. A five-thousand garland cracker went bursting continuously as Raju was campaigning in Kovilpatti. Raju, though a local man this time, has to fight hard for his comeback. Another disadvantage for Raju is the police brutality in the custodial deaths of a father and son in Sathankulam and the public resentment following it. Raju became more unpopular as he was accused of protecting the Thoothukudi SP and delaying action against the policemen in the Sathankulam police excess. A week ago, Raju was again booked for threatening an election flying squad in the region, when they stopped his vehicle for checking. “I actually cooperated with them for the search. There was no reason for registering a case against me,” Raju explains.

Why T.T.V. Dhinakaran chose Kovilpatti

AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, who won with a huge margin from Jayalalithaa’s RK Nagar after her death, in 2017, has moved a long way from North Chennai to down south in Kovilpatti. Though he hails from the Delta region and is popular in the Theni-Periyakulam region, Dhinakaran chose to contest from Kovilpatti. Not because he is popular among the people, but because his AMMK has a strong base, Dhinakaran chose Kovilpatti, having been abandoned in the poll battle by his aunt, Sasikala.

Compared with Srinivasan and Raju, the campaign for Dhinakaran all around the peanut candy town goes on 24x7. The AMMK looks at Kovilpatti as a safe seat for Dhinakaran as his party polled 20,000 votes in this Assembly segment in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Also, his party pulled a major victory in the Kayathr Panchayat union in the civic polls, led by his close associate S.V.S.P. Manickaraja.

Manickaraja is like the local zamindar (landlord), who hails from the popular Thevar community. AMMK won 13 councillor posts from here with the support of Manickaraja. Apart from the three names, Kamal Haasan’s MNM and Seeman’s Naam Thamilar Katchi are nowhere in the picture in Kovilpatti.

The land of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the legendary chieftain who fought the British in the 18th century, is witnessing yet another fight to find its people’s representative to voice for the people.