The Indian National Congress that managed to retain the coastal segment of Radhapuram by registering a thumping victory in five Assembly elections, including three consecutive polls since 1957, lost it to the Tamil Maanila Congress, a splinter group, in 1996.
Though the party has strong presence in this segment, wresting it back is still remains a mirage for it even after 25 years as M. Appavu, a Congress heavyweight from this region with significant following, first joined the TMC and then defected to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
With his versatile qualities, he managed to win three battle of ballots successively in the past, including the one as an ‘Independent’ candidate when intra-party feud compelled him to take the risk.
Now, the DMK has fielded him again against the ruling party’s I.S. Inbadurai, a novice to the electoral battle, while the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam– People’s Welfare Front has reposed its faith in Sivananainthaperumal, a Mumbai-based businessman having his roots in Radhapuram constituency.
Anti-nuclear activist S.P. Udhayakumar is also in the fray on behalf of his ‘Pachchai Thamizhagam’ as he hopes that the anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project struggle, which was once so vibrant in the coastal villages, will come to his rescue.
Since Mr. Appavu, who is instrumental in bringing the Tamirabharani combined drinking water scheme and the Ponnankurichi drinking water scheme to this region to quench the thirst of the public at least to some extent, is quite popular among the public, he is confident of winning this time too.
Naturally, the DMK’s alliance with the Congress has in fact made his winning prospects much brighter.
While this segment houses more number of Nadar community voters, the coastline, right from Koottapuli to Kooduthazhai, has a good number of Christian fishermen electorate, who are facing different livelihood problems. Though all 13 coastal hamlets in the district are badly in need of groynes, construction of the granite structures is yet to commence in most of the villages while the groynes under construction at Uvari, Koottapuli and Idinthakarai have failed to serve the purpose of neutralising menacingly advancing giant waves due to flaws in designs.
Another problem being faced by the coastal community, especially the country boat fishermen, is the constant threat from the mechanised boats that intrude into the banned area of three nautical miles from the shores for fishing that even kills the country boat fishermen on high seas, besides irreparably damaging their craft and nets. A proper guideline has to be evolved and enforced for guaranteeing their livelihood.
Even though this region witnessed a fierce opposition to Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and a sizable number of voters from this segment is still opposed to it, it is not likely to have any impact on the Assembly polls.
With ‘heavy hearts’, most of the villages in this region have started accepting the benefits, including housing, roads, drinking water scheme, health services, etc., from the Rs.500 crore KKNPP Neighbourhood Development Programme that promises two water desalination plants, which are likely to come up at Panjal and Uvari.
Though this constituency has more than 1,500 windmills installed by various private companies as the constituency is advantageously situated along the ‘wind passage’ from Aralvaimozhi pass, no industrial investment has been made here for manufacturing at least the components of wind turbine generators, which could have checked to some extent the migration of skilled workforce to Chennai or Mumbai in search of employment.
The flower market with cold storage facility at Kavalkinaru, which was established during the DMK regime between 2006 and 2011, is gradually crumbling as no step was taken to ensure the constant flow of flowers from the farms to this market. Similarly, steps should be taken to facilitate streamlined exporting of drumstick from Thisaiyanvilai region by creating a cluster.
Getting Pechiparai dam’s surplus water for 51 irrigation tanks in this ‘rain shadow region’ from Nilaparai in neighbouring Kanyakumari district every year is one of the toughest exercise for the people of Radhapuram and their MLA, who literally has to wage a battle with the officials to get things done.
The delay in handing over East Coast Road that traverses Radhapuram constituency to the Union government for converting it into the four-lane stretch has also upset the voters.
While the ruling party believes that the welfare schemes it had executed over the past five years would ensure the victory of its candidate, Mr. Inbadurai, the ‘major omissions’ of the AIADMK and the consequent anti-incumbency sentiment would work in their favour, the DMK and other parties in the electoral battle expect.
