In Harur and Pappireddipatti, voters rue indifference of parties to real issues

Candidates in the fray in the Harur and Pappireddipatti by-elections are apparently focusing on the shortcomings and failures of their opponents rather than their achievements or plans.

The caste-cash combination too holds sway in both the constituencies falling in the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha constituency. Harur is a reserved constituency with a high concentration of Dalits. Pappireddipatti, a general constituency, has a significant presence of Vanniyars, Chettiyars and Gounders.

The constituencies are plagued by severe water shortage but neither the ruling party nor the opposition seem to be bothered much. The Federal interacted with a few voters and the general perception was that the parties would change nothing. They said nothing much had changed in the past two years.

“The ruling party has been in power for the past three years. But, we had an MLA for only one year and for nearly two years we did not have any representative in the Assembly. Also, we do not believe that the AIADMK will do anything good for us as it has joined hands with the PMK, a party which is against the dalits here,” said S Ilayaraja of Harur constituency.

“Parties have started to bribe us. We would get the money from all the parties and would teach them a lesson by voting for the party that actually stands for the dalits,” a voter, who did not want to be named, said.

The PMK’s founding leader Ramadoss campaigned for his son Anbumani Ramadoss (for the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha seat) and the AIADMK candidate for Harur, V Sampathkumar. But he did not make any promise; he just asked people to vote for the party and to ‘limit the chances of the DMK.’

The Federal spoke to people who attended the meeting. Some of them said they were ‘commandeered from different constituencies’ and they were not from Harur. Even the traditional AIADMK voters from the Harur constituency were divided on voting – a strong liking for AMMK candidate R Murugan being the reason. “We are fans of former chief ministers MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa. Murugan was elected from the constituency when Jayalalithaa was alive and we do not even know Sampathkumar. So, we will vote for Murugan,” said M Arumugam, an AIADMK man, who has been a member of the party for a decade. He said he would either vote for AMMK candidate P Palaniappan or DMK candidate Senthilkumar for the Dharmapuri Lok Sabha seat. Some other AIADMK men told The Federal that they would vote only for the DMK party as the Left was in an alliance with the party.

“Communist party MLAs had done a lot to our people and we believe they would initiate steps for the betterment of our livelihood. So, this time, we would vote for the DMK since the Left is in alliance,” said L Loganathan, a daily wage labour from Harur.

Nevertheless, AIADMK candidate Sampathkumar believes that AIADMK men would vote for him. “If voted to power, I would speak for my community in the assembly. I would get the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) to provide employment avenues to people here,” he said.

DMK’s stance

DMK candidate Krishnakumar said he would take up the issues of dalits and find solutions instantly. Despite repeated attempts, The Federal could not get a response from AMMK candidate R Murugan.

Pappireddipatti scene

The cash-caste conundrum was evident in Pappireddipatti assembly constituency too. The constituency was formed in 2007 and the first assembly election was held in 2011. The place is known as an AIADMK bastion with a mixed-caste demography. P Palaniappan was elected MLA in 2011 and 2016.

People’s take

The electorate in Pappireddipatti is of the opinion that the party in power should get the mandate so that things get done. “We do not want to waste our vote by voting to a party that is not in power. At least, if we get an MLA from the ruling party, we would get schools and hospitals for our constituency. This would save us the trouble of moving to the nearest town every time,” said R Radhakrishnan, an autorickshaw driver.

Apart from the AIADMK voters, the PMK too has a considerable vote share in the constituency. This is sure to work to the advantage of the AIADMK candidate. On the AIADMK government’s performance, R Muthukumar, a shopkeeper, said, the State government could function well only if it had the support of the Centre. “So, we would vote for the PMK in the Lok Sabha elections and the AIADMK in the assembly by-election,” Muthukumar said.