Lok Sabha polls: All are welcome to the big fight as Kanimozhi fights the doctor
Kanimozhi, poet, journalist and two-term member of Rajya Sabha, is in a keen contest against Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Kanimozhi, poet, journalist and two-term member of Rajya Sabha, is in a keen contest against Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan. (E P Unny)
THE national face of the Tamil party is taking on the Tamil face of the national party. Kanimozhi, poet, journalist and two-term member of Rajya Sabha, is in a keen contest against Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan. The medical doctor who heads the state BJP puts a long awaited Tamil face to the north-heavy party.
“Kani could have gone elsewhere,” says the doctor. But DMK didn’t take the easy way out by fielding its prime candidate against the AIADMK, weakened by Jayalalithaa’s absence. Which means the state won’t send both articulate women to Parliament.
As measured as ever, Kanimozhi tells you no more than what she wants to. Having emerged from her father’s shadows, she seems to have chosen to stay firmly behind ‘leader’, half-brother Stalin. Asked how it feels to fight a big-cadre party that runs the country, her reply is cryptic. “Here BJP doesn’t count…” After a long pause, punctuated by much action that involves posing with party loyalists jostling for selfies and accepting blessings from ceremonially clad priests from a nearby temple, she completes the thought. “What matters locally is AIADMK.” Click here for more election news
Even after Jayalalithaa? “She was certainly a leader and her party is still there.”
The understated message is clear. Her own DMK is in a doubly unenviable state of conflict with a regional as well as a national party both in power. And there is no dearth of uncertainties, including the untested leadership of her ‘leader’. She is not taking any chances. Every little vote segment is being visibly wooed. In her campaign office in Thoothukudi, you see a couple of black shirts waiting. They are from the Dravida Tamilar Katchi, a Dalit splinter group. This is in addition to the sewed-up alliance with Dalit leader Tamilmanavalan’s high-profile Viduthalai Chiruthai Katchi, part of a long list that extends to the Left.
CPI(M) activist Lakshmanan says he would mobilise every Left vote in the sprawling constituency, which his nephew candidly puts at about 10,000. The 79-year-old runs a tea shop in Thenthirupper that looks like a permanent venue for chai pe charcha. The shop subscribes to two Tamil and two English newspapers and flaunts a blown-up Election Commission ad against vote for money. The comrade says electoral support is for DMK’s anti-BJP stand. “Post-poll, I’ll question Kanimozhi for any lapses on any count.”
Whether such a watchdog ally would be entertained post poll is anybody’s guess. For now, all are welcome on both sides.
Kumaresan, a local BJP worker who arrives hours in advance of candidate Tamilisai akka (older sister), radiates more energy than the noon sun. He lists every caste and sub-caste and details how each section is being persuaded “across 1,593 booths”. His saffron net spreads far and wide to include even unlikely Christian denominations. His sole lament is that caste binds more than religion in Tamil politics. On that note, he takes off to tie up the evening event that has been finely aligned to the local temple festival.
The sun dips and a prayerful Tamilisai Soundararajan arrives to join the temple crowd. When she emerges to chat, she is at her combative best.
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How do you feel taking on DMK’s strongest candidate? “I am no small fry either. Nor is my party a pushover. Why do you think a major Dravidian party is teaming up with us? I have been active in the party for 20 years and came up on my own. The hard way. Unlike Kani, I did not inherit my position.” The last part is unassailable. She is the daughter of veteran Congress leader Kumari Ananthan who wore khadi ever since “I can recall”, says the daughter.
Tailpiece: Through the day and a half at Tuticorin, none mentions Sterlite Copper Plant — in May this year, 13 people were killed in police firing after protests over the plant — except tea seller Comrade Lakshmanan.
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