A woman in her 50s selling flowers near the Kovilpatti Vinayagar temple says she has always voted for “MGR katchi (party)”. Until now.
Kovilpatti in southern Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district may be one of the most-watched constituencies in this Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, with AIADMK rebel T T V Dhinakaran — who has a lot more at stake than just this poll win — announcing his candidature from here. Also in the race is powerful AIADMK minister Kadambar Raju. But, this woman voter and several others in Kovilpatti have their eyes on a third candidate — the self-effacing K Srinavasan, contesting on the ticket of the CPM, which is a part of the DMK-led alliance, who has been working here quietly since long.
A fourth contestant, from Kamal Haasan’s MNM, is barely making his presence felt.
Asked about Dhinakaran, the flower-seller, who doesn’t want to be identified, says, “He reached here only last week. Do you think he can make it without any stake in Kovilpatti?”
A committed AIADMK voter, she has also lost faith in the party. “The street where I live hasn’t changed in 20 years. We don’t even have a streetlight. These people have been unable to do anything, especially after Amma (J Jayalalithaa) died. There is a feeling here that change is must. Srinivasan has been working for us for many years… He hasn’t even changed his old cloth bag still,” she says laughing.Explained |Why is T T V Dhinakaran contesting from Kovilpatti?
Kovilpatti is a dry land largely known for the best kadalai mittai (made of peanut and jaggery) in South India. While it also has several firecracker manufacturing units, as an extension of nearby Sivakasi, its biggest industry is matches, employing over two lakh people.
It is as a leader of the match industry workers, whose jobs are threatened by automation, that Srinivasan first made his mark. He has been a councillor three times and the municipal chairman once. On Monday, the match workers began a strike seeking government help.