Trichy East will be no cakewalk for Vijay

Trichy: After 15 years, Trichy city is to witness a CM candidate in the fray, with TVK leader Vijay contesting in Trichy East. The last time it happened was when late J Jayalalithaa successfully contested in Srirangam in 2011. Minorities used to be the deciding factor in the constituency when the contest largely remained two-cornered. But the advent of Vijay this time has made it an unpredictable three-cornered fight among DMK, AIADMK, and TVK. Since TVK may cut into minorities' vote bank, besides youngsters and women, it is the majority Hindu and dalit communities that are likely to play the deciding factor.

Trichy East comprises 24 wards of the city corporation with 304 polling booths. Covering key landmarks including Rockfort, it has about 2 lakh voters, of which about 36% are minorities. Vellalar, largely an affluent agrarian community, is the dominant caste, comprising Hindu and Christian vellalars. Though Vijay maintained a caste-neutral stance, he is widely linked with Christian vellalars. A study done by TVK before the election was said to have handpicked Trichy East for its small size, minorities, and vellalar presence. Initially, TVK didn't expect incumbent DMK MLA Inigo Irudayaraj, founder of Christhuva Nallenna Iyakkam, and a Vellalar Christian having strained relations with local DMK ministers, to contest. But sources said DMK sensed the plan, and insisted Inigo recontest, finding him the best choice to counter Vijay since both are Christians and vellalars.




Three-Cornered Fight

"Any other candidate, if fielded, would have made it a cakewalk for Vijay," a source in MLA Inigo's camp said. Trichy East also has broken caste algorithms: the segment has seen Christian, Muslim, and even vellalar candidates defeated, whereas non-dominant caste members were elected too. However, most often, Hindu and Christian vellalars have prevailed. This time, AIADMK has also fielded G Rajasekaran, a Hindu vellalar. "Post-2008 delimitation, the minority vote bank in Trichy East has come down significantly as a part of it went to Trichy West. Dalit Christians are in low numbers too. This election will most likely be decided based on the choice of Hindus, including dalits," N Prabakaran, a VCK councillor, said.

In past elections, when the fight was largely between DMK and AIADMK, support from Christians and Muslims played a key role in winning. But TVK's debut and ‘Joseph' Vijay's Christian tag are expected to grab a section of minority votes. With minorities largely expected to pick between DMK and TVK, Hindu votes, which include konars, mukkulathor, mutharaiyar, and SC communities, are expected to play a vital role. "With two Christian vellalar candidates in fray, we hope that Hindu vellalar community may support us," a functionary in AIADMK Trichy urban unit said.

Challenges for Vijay

Inigo and AIADMK's G Rajasekaran have already registered themselves as local candidates. The main criticism levelled against Vijay is his stardom curtailing physical presence in touring the constituency. "If Vijay is elected, we are not sure whether he will stay in the constituency or whether we should be reaching him in Chennai," I Augustine, a resident of Palakkarai said. Even when Jayalalithaa was contesting in Srirangam, she camped for 2-3 days in the city to campaign and meet people. Locals opined that mere caste and religion tags, and stardom, may not be sufficient to seal the win, but meeting people to resolve grievances, including a myriad civic issues and traffic congestion choking the urban segment, would be important.
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