Sholavandan, the only reserved constituency in Madurai district, has many distinctions to its credit. Apart from comprising Alanganallur and Palamedu, places renowned for ‘jallikattu,’ Sholavandan is considered the most fertile part of the district famous for cultivation of betel leaves, paddy and sugarcane.
The constituency also contributed to the first electoral victory of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the 1973 by-election for Dindigul Lok Sabha seat. Since then, Sholavandan has remained a stronghold of the AIADMK, which has won five of the nine Assembly elections since 1977, often with huge margins.
However, the perceptible disappointment against incumbent MLA M.V. Karuppaiah of AIADMK, combined with persistent issues of steady decline in farming, water scarcity in certain areas and lack of alternative employment, are likely to result in a close fight in the upcoming election.
Even AIADMK cadres acknowledge the anti-incumbency sentiment as evident from the stiff opposition recently faced by the party campaigners in Irumbadi village, a bastion of AIADMK, where a hospital was promised but not started.
Despite being a fertile region, many pockets in the constituency appear to reel under acute water shortage, particularly of drinking water. “Sholavandan and nearby places do not have water shortage. But it is a serious problem in areas such as Vadipatti, Alanganallur and Palamedu,” says A. Nagaraj, a farmer from Palamedu. “We are buying water from trucks once in four days by paying Rs. 5 per pot,” he adds.
While farming in these regions has sharply declined due to water scarcity and lack of irrigation projects, the situation is not all that rosy in Sholavandan and nearby areas, which receive water from Periyar irrigation system. “Betel cultivation is no more profitable. Only the older generation is involved as they have no other choice,” says S. Karuppiah of Sholavandan.
Cane supply dwindling
Sugarcane cultivation, considered relatively profitable, has also come down over the years. “The National Cooperative Sugar Mills located in the constituency, which saw supply from more than 15,000 acres in the past has now declined to just about 5,000 acres,” says Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Growers’ Association president N. Palanichamy, adding that the key reasons are declining water resources and inadequate support price.
The decline in agriculture, however, has not been accompanied by avenues for alternative employment. “Companies in the textile park in Vadipatti prefer to employ mainly women for low wages,” says M. Ramesh from Vadipatti, stressing the need for more small and micro industries in the region.
Despite being predominantly rural, the town panchayats of Vadipatti, Alanganallur, Sholavandan and Palamedu are also in the unfortunate position of being ineligible for many government welfare schemes, which could have helped in providing employment.
“Just because of the classification as town panchayat, we are not eligible for 100-day work scheme (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme) or free distribution of goats and milch cows,” says K. Rajkumar, a ward councillor from Palamedu.
Certain regions in the constituency have also remained tense. There was a recent instance of violence by caste Hindus against Dalits in Kuruvithurai.
“There are hardly any problems in places where Dalits reside separately in hamlets. If they reside closer to caste Hindus in the same village, the situation is mostly volatile,” says A. Murugan, a caste Hindu from Irumbadi.
While the ban on ‘jallikattu’ is an emotive issue in this constituency, it is not likely to favour or go against any party since every party is assuring to work towards revoking the ban. It is perhaps after sensing the anti-incumbency factor that AIADMK has denied ticket to Mr. Karuppaiah and instead fielded K. Manickam here. The DMK camp also had its share of controversies in Sholavandan by replacing Dr. Sripriya Thenmozhi with C. Bhavani, raising some dissenting voices in the party.
Eye on Dalit votes
While DMK is likely to reap a majority of the votes of Devendrakula Vellalars with Puthiya Tamizhagam’s presence in the alliance, VCK, which has fielded R. Pandiammal as part of DMDK-PWF-TMC alliance, is aiming to capture a portion of it, apart from consolidating the votes of other Dalit communities, who are considerable in size in this reserved constituency.
