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Ask any Tamil what he associates Madurai with and chances are he will say the malli, the jasmine flower that grows only in this region, has its own Geographical Indication (GI), and the fragrance of which sends south Indians into raptures.
The more contemporary association is M K Alagiri, former Union minister and expelled senior leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
The third association with Madurai is the 'Thirumangalam formula', later adopted by politicians in other parts of the country. The formula simply states victory doesn't have to be won, it can be bought.
Thirumangalam is a constituency in Madurai district that was won by Alagiri from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in 2010 in a byelection. Alagiri later described it as a turning point in his political life.
But today things are different here. In less than 10 days, Madurai will witness one of the biggest political battles, not only among political parties, but an indirect one between two brothers - Alagiri and M K Stalin - sons of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi.
Alagiri, who was expelled by his father from the party, is determined to take revenge and has asked his supporters to work against the DMK's Lok Sabha candidate V Velusamy.
According to local media, he held a secret meeting with his loyalists and put forth a formula to defeat all the 10 DMK candidates in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. He is also expected to campaign for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
But the net gainer, because of this fallout, is the J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK, followed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA, which managed to make strong inroads in the upcoming election, thanks to a Narendra Modi wave; alliance partners; first-time voters (around 60,000) and around two lakh Sourashtrians (Maharashtrians and Gujaratis who migrated here many decades ago).
K Sivagananam, senior political analyst, says though it will be a six-corner fight, the real one is between the AIADMK and DMK, which still have huge bases in rural parts.
In the fray include R Gopalakrishnan (AIADMK), V Velusamy (DMK), D Sivamuthukumar (Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, an NDA partner), B Vikraman (Communist Party of India (Marxist)), T N Bharat Nachiappan (Congress) and M Kamacis (Aam Aadmi Party).
Though Madurai is the third largest city in Tamil Nadu, locals says it is nothing more than a big village, with a collection of smaller ones. Today, of the total population, 52 per cent is from urban areas and 48 per cent from rural areas. When it comes to voters, the ratio is the same.
Madurai constituency consists of six Assembly segments with 14,39,792 voters and one of them is S Vasantha, a college student in Madurai who wants to vote for the BJP. She believes Modi can turn the economy around, address corruption, bring black money back to India, connect rivers and last but not the least create employment.
Her friend C Bhagiya, who will also vote for the first time, says she will go for the none-of-the-above button, as she is fed up with all parties.
While in urban areas voters are very clear that they need change, which will favour the BJP-led NDA, in rural parts like the Melur Assembly segment, covering around 80 villages, voters are still supporters of the Dravidian parties. Here the AIADMK has an edge for a variety of reasons: its welfare measures, including the public distribution system ; low-cost vegetable shops and canteens and other measures to address inflation.
The Congress is held responsible for inflation as well as corruption, which is ironic when you consider that at the centre of the telecom spectrum scam was the DMK minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), A Raja.
S Vijayakumar, a farmer from a village near Melur, says for three consecutive years there is a drought in the district, which has affected farmers.
According to government estimates there are about 1.48 lakh hectares in and around Madurai, of which 65,000 grow paddy and the rest is devoted to horticulture, which has also "died" because of the water scarcity.
While income levels were dropping and survival became questionable, the two things that came to the rescue of voters here were the public distribution system and the UPA's 100-day job scheme, says a banker adding that these helped to avoid a crisis. Cashing on this, the AIADMK's campaign revolves around the state government's welfare measures.
The DMK candidate promises that he will address the water and power crises, create more employment, introduce a new train line to Tuticorin and build proper roads in villages.
Besides agriculture, the other big employer in the constituency is trading and retail. According to estimates, there are around 100,000 retailers in and around Madurai, who kept opposing foreign investment in supermarkets, which was allowed by the Congress-led UPA.
The major challenges affecting industries and livelihood are power cuts of around 8-10 hours a day, a water shortage with drinking water supplied once in three or four days, traffic and lack of employment.
The other factor vital to all parties here is attracting community - Thevar and Yadava - voters. Thevar Jayanthi, celebrated on October 30, is a must-attend event that celebrates the birthday of the most influential leader from the Thevar community: freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar. This February, Jayalalithaa presented a 13 kg gold armour for the Thevar leader's statue in this region.
URBAN DREAMS
Know the constituency
2009:
Total Electorate: 10,22,421
Polling rate in 2009: 77.43 %
Candidate won in 2009:
DMK's M K Alagiri, who managed to get 54.5 % of total votes, followed by Marxist Communist (in alliance with AIADMK) Mohan and DMDK's Kaviarasu
2014:
Total Electorate: 14,39,972 (up by 4 lakh voters, including 60,000 first-time voters)
Total number of candidates: 34
Number of male candidates : 30
Number of female candidates : 3
Other candidate : 1
Main issues:
Water crisis for households and agriculture. Projects related to address the issue was not taken up, including phase-II of Vaigai second drinking water pipeline project, Cauvery drinking water project, Mullai Periyar, monorail, employment generation, revival of scam-hit granite industry, modernisation of government hospital, implementation of satellite town project, traffic, among others
