Why PMANE chose to take the plunge and join electoral politics

Kanyakumari: Long before he plunged into the protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), S P Udayakumar, People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) leader and AAP candidate from Kanyakumari wrote a short pamphlet calling for a green political party. It began thus: "What do you do when 'all roads lead to doom' and not travelling is not an option? The answer is, of course, pave a new road! A road that avoids the pitfalls of the existing roads, a road that takes us to bloom instead of doom?"
Inspired by the ideals of German Greens and their leader Petra Kelly, Udayakumar launched a Green Party in the early 2000s.But, it didn't take off. That's when the movement against KKNPP in Kudankulam and neighbouring coastal villages to the north of Kanyakumari district gained traction. Udayakumar, who has a doctorate in Peace Studies from a US university, shifted to Idinthakarai, a coastal village in the shadow of the giant nuclear plant. That was three years ago.
PMANE under Udayakumar's leadership has radically transformed politics in these villages. Today, villagers here engage in discussions on the demerits of nuclear energy and merits of alternative sources of power. School students speak about the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the impact of nuclear radiation on living forms. Idinthakarai is a prominent site on the map of activism. However, with trial runs beginning at the plant, a fresh path had to be paved, if the movement had to survive. PMANE has chosen a new path that has led the movement to join AAP and take the plunge into electoral politics.
"This is the only way for us to keep the issue alive and maintain a dialogue on the nuclear policy," said Udayakumar, when this reporter met him a day before he left Idinthakarai to file his nomination papers for the Kanyakumari seat as the AAP nominee. Sitting in the company of other PMANE leaders, now fellow AAP candidates, Pushparayan and Jesuraj, outside the Idinthakarai church, the site of the anti-nuclear protests, he said the move to contest elections was taken after deliberations with the villagers.
The original plan, he said, was not for PMANE leaders to contest. "Last year, we talked to various smaller political outfits like the MDMK to take a stand on the issue and come together to oppose the main parties including AIADMK, DMK, Congress and the communist parties who were in favour of the plant. We soon realized that it was a futile exercise. Then Prashant Bhushan invited us to join AAP. In September 2012, Arvind Kejriwal visited us and extended support. So, we decided to join the fight," added Udayakumar. "We were a little depressed that nobody in the political arena responded to us," said Pushparayan, who was a priest for a decade until he left the church to become a social worker. "Ninety per cent of the community wanted us to contest," Pushparayan said. "We see this as the next phase of the struggle," Udayakumar added.
AAP has fielded Udayakumar, Pushparayan and Jesuraj in Kanyakumari, Tuticorin and Tirunelveli constituencies respectively. The fisher folk make up about 4 to 5 lakh of the voters in the three constituencies, who, AAP claims, are likely to support PMANE leaders. Since, a multi-cornered contest is in the offing, a candidate who is likely to get over 1.5 lakh votes could win the seat. Even then, do the numbers add up?
Father Antony Claret, a young priest who co-ordinates Udayakumar's campaign in Kanyakumari, outlined the strategy thus: There are 44 coastal villages in Kanyakumari constituency from Neerodi on the Kerala border to Arockiapuram in the east. There are nearly two lakh votes here. They will vote for us. There are 21 teams doing door-to-door campaigns in these villages. Writers like Lakshmi Manivannan and poet N D Rajkumar are part of these small campaign groups. Claret claims the response has been overwhelming, especially from the women. A similar campaign is on in the urban parts of the constituency as well.
The church wields significant influence in coastal villages, where the overwhelming majority of the people are Christians. In Kanayakumari alone, about 45% of the people are Christians. However, the church has been silent on whom it would support. Father Alcander of Manakudi parish near Kanyakumari said the church would take a stand closer to the polling date. In his words, one could read that the church would back the candidate best placed to defeat the NDA nominee, former MP and BJP state president Pon Radhakrishnan. Three of the candidates, including the nominees of AIADMK, DMK and CPM, are Catholics.
Fr Claret wanted the church to back Udayakumar, who is a Hindu. He is the candidate best suited since he has been fighting for the rights of fishermen, in particular, he said. Interestingly, there are many young priests who are backing AAP. In fact, Jesuraj, a Catholic priest has excused himself from parish work to fight the election. Another priest, who did not want to be identified, said the church should back Udayakumar not just because he is the best candidate but also for strategic reasons. Backing a Hindu, who has stood up for the predominantly Christian fisher folk, would help the church stave off the charge that the latter fuels communal politics in the district, which has in the past witnessed Hindu-Christian riots.
Irrespective of the outcome of the election, the entry of PMANE into the electoral fray has changed the nature of political discourse and campaign in Kanyakumari and its neighbourhood. That in itself is a change for the better and Udayakumar can justifiably take credit.