Battlelines have been clearly drawn in Kurunjipadi assembly constituency in the district, where two former Ministers belonging to the DMK and the AIADMK are in the fray.
The constituency has been witnessing one-to-one fights between these parties with the DMK winning nine times. The AIADMK breached the DMK citadel only in 1980, 1984, 1991 and 2011.
The AIADMK was the first party to announce its candidate, ahead of the DMK and the AMMK.
But it replaced its nominee and Cuddalore south union secretary R. Palanisamy with Selvi Ramajayam, who was the first woman Minister of the district.
Ms. Ramajayam, who won from the neighbouring Bhuvanagiri Assembly constituency in the 2006 and 2011 elections, is pitted against former DMK Minister and heavyweight M.R.K. Panneerselvam.
Prestigious battle
In the 2016 election, Mr. Panneerselvam defeated his nearest rival, R. Rajendran of the AIADMK, by a margin of 28,108 votes. It is a prestigious battle of ballots for both the DMK and the AIADMK, with the former stretching every sinew to retain the seat.
Mr. Panneerselvam is banking on the party’s strength, the rural mass, the anti-incumbency factor, price rise and corruption charges against the AIADMK.
The AIADMK nominee, on the other hand, projects the welfare schemes of the Edappadi K. Palaniswami government. Although the constituency has not elected a candidate other than the two Dravidian parties yet, the lead of the DMK here has gradually declined.
Kurunjipadi had given Mr. Panneerselvam the biggest margin in 1996 when he beat N. Pandarinathan of the AIADMK by 39,013 votes.
In 2001, the DMK won from here by 23,863 votes. In 2006, the party’s margin came down to 1,708 votes. In 2016, the DMK won by a margin of 28,108 votes.
The DMK has high hopes in Kurunjipadi this time.
The constituency has a large number of farm hands and weavers, and advances in technology have hardly made any impact.
The issue of excess water pumped out from NLC India Ltd. (NLCIL) resulting in inundation of agricultural fields is a regular phenomenon during the monsoon.
Long-pending demand
According to R.K. Ramalingam, president of Kurunjipadi Uzhavar Mandram, “Lignite mining by NLCIL in the abutting villages has resulted in borewells drying up, which in turn resulted in poor yield. Water level in several villages in the constituency has declined to a depth of 320 feet as against a depth of 60 feet a few years ago. The desilting of Perumal Eri, a major waterbody, has also been a long-pending demand.”
