Image caption Unemployment is a major problem in Dharmapuri constituency. Article information
Dharmapuri constituency, one of the most backward parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu, has again become one of the constituencies to watch due to intense electoral competition. BBC Tamil went live to find out how the election campaign is going on.
Dharmapuri, one of the northwestern districts of Tamil Nadu, is one of the most backward constituencies in the state. Vazhappadi Ramamurthy, Thambidurai, K.V. Since important leaders like Thangabalu and Anbumani Ramadoss contested and won the constituency, it has always been a watched constituency.
From 1998 to 2019, the Patali People’s Party has won four of the six elections held in this constituency. DMK twice. has succeeded. DMK in the 2019 parliamentary elections. Candidate S.Senthilkumar won by about 63,000 votes more than his opponent Anbumani Ramadoss of BJP.
DMK in this constituency. Despite contesting directly, the current Member of Parliament, S. Senthilkumar, was not given another chance. On the contrary, DMK’s district deputy secretary A. is given a chance at
Sowmiya Anbumani is contesting against him on behalf of the BJP-BMC alliance. Ashok, son of Ravi, the party’s Dharmapuri city secretary, is contesting on behalf of ADMK.
Soumya Anbumani says that she will focus on image recognition and employment
Soumya is welcomed by women
In Dharmapuri where there is a lot of scrub forest, the sun is very intense. But the election campaign is more heated than that. Soumya Anbumani, the candidate of the Patali People’s Party, is gathering votes by presenting the water problem and lack of employment in the district.
Speaking to BBC, he said, “CCP has been demanding for a long time that the excess water of Cauvery should be diverted to this area. If that project is implemented, this area will improve. There are no big industrial companies or factories here. It would be good if we bring in agricultural industries. Only initial works for Chipkot. It should be implemented immediately.
“3 lakh youths from this area are working in other districts. They have land, but they have left the district due to lack of water and other jobs. All the people who see are asking about employment, so I will focus on that,” he says.
Wherever Soumya Anbumani goes to campaign, she is well received by women. Sowmiya Anbumani is also going to the villages of the district and collecting votes by promising the residents employment, water, closure of Tasmak etc. Party leader Anbumani Ramadas is also collecting votes for him, so the AMC side is very excited.
DMK accuses central government
Caption: DMK candidate Mani says he does not consider Soumya Anbumani as a big contender
A. Mani, who is contesting on behalf of DMK, is a lawyer. In 2019, he contested and lost on behalf of DMK from Pappyrettipatti constituency. In his campaign, he blames the central government for hike in gas prices, petrol and diesel prices. He also points out women’s entitlement amount, free bus travel for women.
“They are asking us to bring surplus water from the Tenpenna river here. Tomato pulp factory is needed because of the high production of tomatoes. We are saying that we will do all this. Besides, we are also saying the achievements of the DMK government for three years,” says Mani. She says that Soumya does not consider Anpuni as her big competition.
This is the first election for ADMK’s candidate Doctor Ashok. Ashok is garnering votes by talking about his achievements when Edappadi K. Palaniswami was the chief minister. Ashok is trying to convert the dissatisfaction with the ruling party into votes for himself by pointing out the lack of women’s rights amount for some and jewelry loan waiver for some.
Apart from these three, Dr. Abhinaya Ponnivalavan of Naam Tamilar Party is also in the field.
Earth seen by the sky
Caption Edappadi Palaniswami’s regime’s achievements to garner votes, says AIADMK candidate Ashok
Dharmapuri was in the Mettur Lok Sabha constituency till 1977. After reorganization it was converted into Dharmapuri constituency. There are six assembly constituencies in this Lok Sabha constituency namely Dharmapuri, Bennagaram, Palakodu, Arur (Separate), Paprirettipatti and Mettur in Salem district.
Being a very backward area, this was the area where Naxals dominated. Although Naxal influence has waned since police encounters in the 1980s, it is still largely an underdeveloped area.
This district, which has a dry appearance of scrub forests and bare earth, is one of the most tribal areas in Tamil Nadu. As employment opportunities within the district are less, migration to other districts is high here. In 2015, 20 people were shot dead in Andhra Pradesh’s Seshachalam forest after allegedly cutting down sheep. 7 of them were from Dharmapuri district.
So this is a land without dearth of problems.
Dharmapuri Parliamentary Constituency has the largest area in terms of area. Mettur, Okanagan, Aroor, Palakode each region has different problems.
The mood of the people
“Although there are colleges for education, employment is not clean. There is a situation where even those who have studied engineering go to work as couriers. New factories should be brought here which will provide employment on a large scale,” says Viswanathan from Arur area.
Although the problem of fluorite in groundwater has been largely resolved through the Okanagan Joint Water Project, there is a demand for the next step.
“There is a lot of unused land in this district. Industries should be started in those areas. This is how industrial development started in Hosur. Sipkot has stopped land acquisition. Industries should be encouraged to come there. Similarly, surplus water of Cauvery and South Penna River should be diverted to this district,” says a doctor, a social activist from this area. Ravichandran.
As far as the public is concerned, there is not much expectation regarding the elections. They are in the mindset that even if the water and employment problems are solved. Some talk about women’s rights amount.
In the last election DMK won by around 70,000 votes. This is the winning block. But the BJP is poised to repeat its 2014 success again. Thus, the multi-sided competition narrows down to two-sided competition.
– This is a Collective Newsroom publication for the BBC.