Kanyakumari, India’s southern most Lok Sabha constituency, is perhaps the only seat in Tamil Nadu where the Congress has some hope. Dravidian parties All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are putting up a good fight; Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), too, has fielded its candidate. According to political observers, though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s prospects seem strong at the moment, things might change if the Church decides to go against the latter.
Christians account for about 44 per cent of the total population in this constituency. In this most literate district of Tamil Nadu (literacy rate is 93.5 per cent), the Church controls the polity here. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, the Church asked the people to vote for the DMK. The DMK bagged the seat.
Kanyakumari is the second largest district in terms of population density and the second most urbanised in the state.
A key tourist destination, the town last week received two important leaders — BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. This is the only constituency in Tamil Nadu where Gandhi campaigned, as this has been a Congress bastion.
Both candidates — BJP’s Pon Radhakrishnan and Congress’ H Vasantha Kumar — hope they would win the seat. Observers say the BJP has an edge, thanks to alliance partners, educated population and of course Modi’s popularity among first-time voters.
On the other hand, the Congress is hoping it will get the Christian community’s support. Of the six Assembly segments, Congress holds Killiyoor, Colachel and Vilavancode, followed by AIADMK with two seats (Kanyakumari and Nagercoil) and a lone seat (Padmanabhapuram) by the DMK. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, Congress and DMK fought together and managed to get the bulk of Christian votes.
The AIADMK hopes initiatives by the state government to address inflation and development projects worth Rs 300 crore in the area would help it.
Sheen, a villager at Chinnathurai, one of the deep fishing pockets in Kanyakumari, endorses the party’s claim. “We personally like him (BJP’s Radhakrishnan). But we might have to vote for the AIADMK, as it is the ruling party and we need to go to them for taking up issues related to fishermen.” Fishermen constitute 10-15 per cent of the total population in Kanyakumari.
Suresh Swamiyar Kaani, a noted tribal leader and representative of Kanyakumari District Minorities Federation, said, “The BJP is not at all the choice of minorities. A candidate who can ensure the welfare and rights of Christians and Muslims should win.”
Except for BJP, Congress and AAP, all others have fielded Christians.
The AIADMK fielded John Thangam, the DMK F M Rajarathnam and the CPI(M) has A V Bellarmine. The candidates of the BJP, Congress and AAP are Hindus. AAP has fielded anti-nuclear activist S P Udayakumar.
Analysts say in 1999, the BJP gained from division of votes between two Christian candidates — N Dennis (Congress) and D Kumardoss (Tamil Maanila Congress). But a similar situation in 2009 did not work in its favour. The DMK’s Helen Davidson, won, defeating sitting MP Bellarmine, thanks to consolidation of Christian votes after the Church’s intervention.
Siddique, a fisherman from Colachel, says, “It doesn’t matter whether people face power cut for eight hours, water scarcity, unemployment, poor infrastructure… the Church’s word is final.”
The BJP is trying its best to match Christian endorsement. Recently, the heads of the Orthodox Church of Kerala and Jacobite Church praised Modi; and actor Vijay, whose mother Sobha is a Christian, recently met Modi. The BJP also bets on its alliance, while Congress is fighting alone. In 2009, the DMDK, which contested alone earlier, secured 68,000 votes’ it is now with the BJP, which also bets big on Vaiko’s MDMK.
A senior representative of the catholic church said on condition of anonymity, “He (Radhakrishnan) is a right candidate in a wrong party. He has a good name among the community because he worked for the constituency’s welfare. Not a single religious clash was reported during his tenure (as MP).”
Another factor likely to work in Radhakrishnan's favour is the general feeling, especially among first-time voters, that he will get an influential portfolio if the BJP forms the government, due to his proximity to Modi. He can bring more infrastructure projects and investments.
In the Atal Behari Vajpayee government, he was the Union minister of state for youth affairs and his efforts to establish a “youth village” here was well received by the public, though it never took off due to land issues. He was also recognised for various infrastructure projects.
P Justin Antony, founder-president of Tamil Nadu Fishermen Development Trust, said the fisher community had been asking for a separate ministry to address their problems.
“The Congress was silent when Indian fishermen were attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy at Katchatheevu. This has created anti-Congress sentiment here,” he said.
Modi cashed on this and promised all help, including giving high-tech gadgets to help them fish.
