When Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently set foot in Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district as part of his electioneering schedule in Tamil Nadu, it was the first time after Independence that a Prime Minister had visited this historical coastal town.
Mr. Modi described it as his “fortune” that he was visiting the “holy” town of Vedaranyam where the famous Salt satyagraha march was organised against the British during the height of the freedom struggle.
The Prime Minister’s visit to Vedaranyam seeking support for the BJP candidates in the central region was the high point in this Assembly constituency’s intense electioneering campaign.
A major salt producing centre in the State, the Vedaranyam constituency is poised for a high-pitched battle as major parties have nominated prominent faces who are well aware of the dynamics of this segment.
Absence of rail link to Vedaranyam, demands for construction of a fishing harbour at Vellapallam or Arcot Thurai, setting up a cold storage facility for mango and establishment of agro-based industrial units connected with this fruit crop are some of the key issues that have been raised by the people of this constituency.
Holding out promises, the contestants are leaving no stone unturned to garner support through their hectic field-level campaigns across the constituency which has sizeable presence of Vanniyars and Thevars.
If the Congress nominee P.V. Rajendran was elected MLA twice (1989 and 1991) from this constituency, his BJP opponent S.K. Vedarathinam who quit the DMK to join the national party was elected thrice – 1996, 2001 and 2006 — on DMK ticket. The AIADMK has fielded one of its senior leaders and former Member of Parliament O.S. Manian as its nominee who had fought in Vedaranyam earlier. The battle of the three seniors as well as the entry of Pattali Makkal Katchi and the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam candidates is poised to turn it as a keenly fought contest.
The BJP’s ambition to bag this seat in the central region is evident from its strategy of fielding Mr. Vedarathinam, an equally well-known face in the constituency like Mr. Rajendran and Mr. Manian and by bringing in the country’s premier itself to galvanise support for the party.
Although the DMK won six times in the past from 1971 in Vedaranyam, the Dravidian party has offered the seat to the Congress this time.
The Congress with the backing of the DMK has gone all out to wrest the seat from the AIADMK which it in 2011. Mr. Vedarathinam who contested as an independent in 2011 polled sizeable votes to emerge second, say locals.
Banking on its equally strong support base is the AIADMK which too is giving a tough fight to its other rivals by devising its own strategy and putting across the “achievements” attained in the last five years.
Prime Minister Modi addressed a rally in Vedaranyam recently
AIADMK is giving a tough fight to its rivals
Holding out promises, the contestants are leaving no stone unturned to garner support
