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Tirupur, the hosiery capital of India, is reeling under severe summer heat and rising political temperature. The industrial town, around 450 km from Chennai, is home to the Rs 13,500-crore knitwear industry, a major employment generator as well as foreign exchange earner. About 400,000 people depend on this industry for their livelihood.
According to A Sakthivel, president, Tirupur Exporters Association, the industry has been facing several challenges such as pollution-related issues, absence of policy support and infrastructure, apart from global economic slowdown.
Dinesh Kumar, 32, a candidate of actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), part of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), says if elected, he would "force" the BJP prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, to take all possible measures to give a boost to the industry. "We will make sure exports touch Rs 28,000 crore. We won't allow export of cotton and cotton yarn," he says.
He has his task cut out: To address issues such as power and water supply, crisis in agriculture, and availability of cotton. He would take up issues related to powerloom industry and dyeing units.
A similar set of promises are made by the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) candidate during the campaign. This touches a chord with first-time voters in this city. A Prakash, a local student, believes Modi can create more jobs and can replicate the Gujarat development model. Moreover, he says, the Gujarat chief minister will help the information technology industry (that Prakash wants to join after getting his engineering degree) grow.
The DMDK nominee says in the previous Assembly election the party candidate had managed to get around 93,000 votes, while the other NDA alliance partners got almost 200,000. He is confident he could get about 300,000 votes in this election.
Although the BJP's presence is almost nil here, the DMDK is happy promoting Modi because he is not a threat and might attract some votes.
| THE TEXTILE TOWN |
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2014 AT A GLANCE Number of voters: 13,38,568 (Male: 6,79,180 Female: 6,59,338 and 50 others) Number of candidates: 32 (including 26 men and six women) Number of parties: Six in fray (AIADMK, DMDK, INC, DMK, CPI and AAP) |
2009 POLLS AT A GLANCE
Poll recorded: 74.6%
Winner: AIADMK's Sivaswami, managed to clock 2,95,731 votes (39.9%). AIADMK had alliance with MDMK, PMK and Communist parties
First runner-up: Congress’ Karvendan — 2,10,385 votes (28.4%). Congress joined hands with DMK and VCK
Second runner-up: Balasubramanian – 95,299 (13.1%)
CANDIDATES IN 2014 ELECTIONS
N Dinesh Kumar
DMDK, part of NDA
V Sathyabama
AIADMK
S Senthilnathan
DMK
R Subbarayan
CPI (M)
E V K S Elangovan
Congress
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK had won the Tirupur Lok Sabha seat comfortably. But in 2014, it is not a cakewalk for the ruling party. While the AIADMK has fielded V Sathyabama, the DMK has put up S Senthilnathan. The CPI(M)'s candidate, R Subbarayan, the Congress' E V K S Elangovan and the DMDK's N Dinesh Kumar are other candidates. The constituency was carved out after the delimitation exercise ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, with the six Assembly constituencies of Tirupur North, Tirupur South, Gobichettipalayam, Anthiyur, Bhavani and Perundurai.
In the previous general elections, the AIADMK was in alliance with Left parties. The latter had a strong trade union presence in the area. However, now, the influence of Communist parties is waning, according to owners of knitwear units. The issue of GAIL's pipeline project has divided villagers. The gas pipeline connects Kochi to Bangalore through seven districts of Tamil Nadu. According to the plan, the pipeline was to pass through agricultural fields. "This (the project) was a major threat to our livelihood," says E Eswaran, a villager from Therrkupalayam. He can't use his land for agriculture because of water shortage and the pipeline. "I want to exit from agriculture and start an industry but I can't arrange for money as banks are not giving us loans. I can't sell the land because of the project."
When it became a major issue, the chief minister ordered a halt to the project last year, stating it would endanger the livelihood of the farmers. She asked GAIL to lay the pipeline along highways without affecting farmers and asked GAIL to remove the pipeline already laid in farmlands and pay compensation to the affected farmers.
GAIL moved court against the government's decision and got a favourable order from the Madras High Court, against which the state government has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. It ordered status quo and GAIL has temporarily suspended the work. Sudha, a villager, thinks the state government's move to help people suffering from price rise will also help the party in the elections. She says people were insulated from the effects of inflation through the effective distribution of essential items through the public distribution system and low-cost 'Amma' canteens.
