Harur, a reserved constituency in Dharmapuri district, witnesses a straight fight between the two main alliances led by the DMK and AIADMK, notwithstanding the presence of the third alliance led by the AMMK.
Though the Dalits are a majority (23.40%), the Kongu Vellalars who come second (22.70%) are expected to swing the votes. Arundhatiyars and Scheduled Tribes form over 13% of the population here.
In 2019, Harur constituency clinched the win for the DMK in the Lok Sabha elections by providing a margin of over 39,000 votes. However, the DMK lost the simultaneous byelections to Harur, with Kongu Vellalar votes presumed to have swung in favour of the AIADMK, seen as a vote in solidarity with a government led by a Kongu Vellalar Chief Minister.
This time, Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi has aligned with the DMK, promising the community’s votes.
However, the AIADMK is also wooing the community, riding on the caste of its Chief Ministerial candidate. But, across constituencies in Dharmapuri district, the AIADMK is facing the resentment of Kongu Vellalars, who were denied a seat in what was expected to be their promised Assembly seat of Paapireddipatty.
The AIADMK’s incumbent MLA V. Sampathkumar is the party ‘s candidate this time too. He, however, faces the resentment of the party’s local functionaries and the voters, who have alleged that he was incommunicado ever since he got elected two years ago.
The CPI(M), which is part of the DMK alliance, has fielded A. Kumar in Harur. The Left parties have clinched the seat five times since 1977. The constituency was held by the CPI(M) for four terms, with three successive terms since 2001 to 2011. The CPI had held this constituency once. However, the Left had held the seat in alliance with one of the two Dravidian parties. With the VCK and the CPI(M) having a significant cadre base in Harur, the latter’s candidate is said to have an advantage.
R.R. Murugan, who won the seat for the AIADMK in 2016 is contesting again, but as the AMMK’s candidate. His disqualification led to the byelections to the constituency in 2019, when he polled 14,000 votes, splitting the AIADMK’s votes. In this election, he is set to break a large chunk of votes, largely those of AIADMK dissident votes, which is expected to benefit the DMK alliance.
A significant part of the constituency is under tapioca farming and farmers have for long been demanding captive industries to tap the locally grown tapioca. Farmers are compelled to transport their crop to Salem, undercutting remunerative prices. Irrigation schemes, by way of checkdams in river Thenpennai, at Thennakal, checkdams in Vaaniyaar, and Varataaru are also being demanded here. The eight-lane Salem-Chennai expressway project, which would cut through farm lands, is a key election issue.
