Arch-rivals DMK and AIADMK are locking horns in this Cauvery delta constituency to establish supremacy in the May 16 Assembly polls, with sitting DMK MLA T R B Rajaa, son of former Minister T R Baalu, seeking to retain the seat.
The contest is virtually confined to Rajaa and AIADMK's S Kamaraj, who has a 30-year association with the party and is fondly addressed as 'SK' among colleagues and locals.
Rajaa, though credited with renovating Mannargudi railway station and addresseing infrastructure and other issues, faces criticism for 'inaccessibility' and more importantly for the distilleries said to be run by his family and the contentious Coal Bed Methane (CBM) project, initiated by DMK which resulted in a severe backlash against the M Karunanidhi-led party last time.
The CBM, approved by DMK when it was in power between 2006-11, is believed to have been one of the factors responsible for its defeat, with the AIADMK making it one of the key poll issues even in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Incidentally, Baalu had lost to the AIADMK then.
In the backdrop of prohibition demand, the issue of two distilleries run by Baalu's family is also being billed as a possible speed breaker for Rajaa in his bid to secure a successive term .
A farmer who did not want to be quoted, alleged that the beer factory at Vadaseri was affecting local farmlands, an issue raised by local AIADMK unit also.
"There is a danger of these lands being turned into real estate," a senior local AIADMK leader and a poll manager of Kamaraj, told PTI.
He recalled the alleged police action against people at a public hearing on the distillery at Orathanadu in Thanjavur in 2010 for the Vadaseri unit and claimed that certain sections of locals were still observing it as a black day.
However, Rajaa described the criticism as "absolutely no issue," and points out at DMK's promise of implementing total prohibition if the party is elected to power in this hard fought elections.
"It is absolutely no issue. It doesn't matter who runs the distilleries but every one of them, including Midas (allegedly run by a close aide of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa) will be shut in Tamil Nadu if DMK wins," he told PTI.
The DMK MLA is harping on performance even as AIADMK
accuses him of being inaccessible. Local AIADMK leaders said that Rajaa is not seen often in public, a charge which the DMK leader dismissed as "lies".
Rajaa claimed that he is the only MLA in the state to have a dedicated telephone line to be contacted anytime and that he responds to issues. "The AIADMK has got nothing to sell than lies," he alleged.
He is harping on his five-year performance, including renovating the local railway station when DMK was a UPA constituent.
Many times the funds were "rejected" or "unutilised" by the local administration, he claimed.
"I got sanctioned a sports complex from (then Sports Minister of UPA) Ajay Makhen. Further, I ensured renovation of existing bridges and other infrastructure network," he said.
His promises for this election include modernisation of Mannargudi bus stand, a new bus stand at nearby Needamangalam and desilting of Vaduvur lake which caters to about 10,000 acres of land.
AIADMK, on its part, is confident that the party-led government's schemes will fetch it a sound win against DMK.
"In this constituency, Amma's (Jayalalithaa) schemes have a 100 per cent reach and we are very confident that this will fetch us a massive victory," N Swaminathan, one of the poll managers of party candidate Kamaraj, said.
Modernisation of the bus stand and Underground Drainage are Kamaraj's main promises to electorate, numbering around 2.41 lakh. "I will be faithful to the people," he told
