All roads lead to hometowns for Mumbai's Tamil voters

Mumbai is over 1,300km away from Chennai, but that distance seems to matter little in Tamil pockets of the city. Many migrants, with jobs and homes in the country's financial capital, are readying to leave for their native towns and villages down south to make it in time for the May 16 assembly elections.

Among them is Nagraj Krishnaswamy (36), a resident of the 8,000-plus Tamil settlement inside Aarey colony, Goregaon. This driver in a private company and staunch AIADMK supporter is packing to leave with his family for Cuddalore. "We're Dalits. We could come out of the stranglehold of upper castes because of MGR sir. We're bounden to the party and hence our votes are always for Amma."

His wife Selvi seems driven by more practical concerns though. "Though it's hotter than Mumbai, since the rice, mobiles and TVs are per vote, I'm happy to accompany my husband. Anyway, it's the children's school vacation."

Across their house, 68-year-old Subramaniam Arasan poses proudly against the walls of his house painted in AIADMK iconography, Tamil Nadu-style. Resting alongside a wall is a huge cut-out of the incumbent CM which he plans to take around the neighbourhood and bathe in milk when results are out. "She'll definitely win. There's no alternative. She knows what's best for us," says this retired Aarey dairy hand who shows us a card declaring him AIADMK secretary of the Aarey Colony.

But isn't his neighbourhood not even in Tamil Nadu? "That doesn't make a difference, Amma's in our hearts," he beams.

His wife, Malkova, seems a little less enthused. "The mixie and fan we got in the last election keeps breaking down. If he can show so much support sitting here, Amma should also do something for us and our children. It's best to ask for rice or money. That's the best."

Others in the neighbourhood also start bringing out Jaya fans which have stopped working. "But you see none of us want to throw them away as scrap because it has Amma's face on it," Arasan insists.

Across the settlement, however, there aren't any takers for Amma. Rajesh Mani, who is also a Cuddalore native, says it's time to teach Amma a lesson. "She abandoned us during floods. So why will we vote for her?"

According to him, it's time for a third alternative. "I think Naam Tamilar Katchi's Seeman (Tamil film director, writer) should be given a chance."

But the groundswell of support among those headed to their native homes here is DMK. Excited about his visit to Elumalai, Madurai, mason Rajendran Appadurai says he can't wait to catch the action. "I went both in 2011 assembly polls and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The one who wins Madurai wins the state," this Karunanidhi fan beams proudly.

Like many of the Tamil diaspora in Mumbai, he too is a daily-wage earner but gladly foregoes earnings to vote. Corruption charges against the DMK are brushed off. "When other parties give rice, TVs and mixer-grinders, DMK too has to spend. How much can they give from their own pocket?" he defends. His neighbour Tyagarajan and wife Tilakavanti, who are leaving for Tirunalvelli, are also staunch DMK voters. "Jayalalitha makes tall promises, only Karunanidhi can ensure they're fulfilled," they insist.

Fifteen kilometres away in Bhandup, Tamil fisherfolk of Madraswadi too are all charged up over the elections in their home state. Many of these Nagapattinam and Karaikal migrants are still enthused about Jayalalithaa's promises of increased cash assistance during non-fishing season, setting up of fish processing parks, and seafood export processing zone. Mary Arul, who is busy knitting a crochet veil for her visit to the Vailankani shrine when back home has a personal reason to support Amma. "When my cousin and his neighbours were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy, it was Amma who raised the issue with Delhi and had them released."

In Dharavi where the Tamil conclave has been the backdrop to the movie Nayakan based on the life of late don Varadaraj Mudaliar, 29-year-old P Shanmugan, who works with a leather processing unit, is keen to go back home. "Today, everybody's asserting their identity. Why shouldn't we? Going there to vote is a way of doing that."

Upper castes in well-off Tamil strongholds like mini-Chennai Matunga may not be going in big numbers as most are still sore about being pushed out over the 60s. "We were hounded out by parties who made caste their one-point agenda," says Seshadri Iyengar, a Matunga resident. "Between the two, Jayalalithaa seemed like the lesser evil, but she hasn't done much," grins the 85-year-old.

Surprisingly, the woman of the house Padmalaxmi is unhappy about the elections. "Everytime there's an election there, our maid from Dharavi wants to take leave to go and pick up the freebies."