Thiruparankundram not to give up AIADMK

Madurai: The first by-elections to the 14th Tamil Nadu Assembly is unlikely to throw up any surprise, at least in the Thiruparankundram constituency, which has been a pocket borough of AIADMK since 1977.

Necessitated by the untimely demise of MLA S.M. Seenivel, who did not step out of the hospital to even know about his victory in the general assembly election last May, the Thiruparankundram by-election will in all likelihood be a dull affair, mainly because CM Jayalalithaa has been hospitalised and so the election campaign may lack the usual acrimony.

Though DMK may rake up during the campaign issues like lack of infrastructure and industrial growth, the constituency has established a string of AIADMK victories to send party stalwarts like former TN speaker K. Kalimuthu to the assembly twice.

Among other issues DMK may use in the campaign would be lack of roads and underground drainage facilities in Thiruparankundram, Thirunagar, and Avaniyapuram even after these areas were annexed with the City Corporation 5 years ago.

The Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, one of the six abodes of Murugan is located in Thiruparankundram. But the town does not have basic infrastructure facilities to cater to the needs of devotees, who visit in thousands throughout the year. And the battered road in the girivalam route around the temple also poses hardships to the devotees.

The Thiruparankundram constituency, the second largest among the 10 assembly constituencies in the district, also houses the Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai Airport and an IT Park near the university. The IT Park was established during the DMK regime, but it has remained unoccupied for the last 10 years, said a senior DMK functionary involved in election work.

The people in the rural packet in the constituency solely depend on agricultural for their livelihood. The famous jasmine variety - Madurai Malli - is cultivated in Thirupparankundram. So far no steps have been taken to set up a perfume industry in the constituency, one of the long pending demands of the farmers. And the lack of cold storage facilities to preserve the vegetables cultivated largely in the areas is also a serious concern for the farmers.

In the meantime, the DMK Madurai South district secretary M Manimaran, who had lost by a margin of 23,000 votes in the constituency in the last election, is determined to prove his mettle this time. However, the AIADMK which had won five times on its own and twice supported by allies, is confident of winning
again.