Calling himself rage of the roads,Baalu in gear

There is more if elected,Baalu promises voters in his letters,including an international airport; rail connectivity to suburb Avadi,housing most of the industrial workers; a Metro rail; a dry port; a six-lane road; and a host of flyovers. What he leaves out is that most of these proposals are already under different stages of consideration.

While Sriperumbudur became famous across the country as the place where former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in an LTTE suicide attack,it is now better known as a manufacturing and industrial hub. Auto manufacturers like Hyundai,Ford,Hindustan Motors,BMW and Mitsubishi have a presence here,while Nissan is planning to set up a major car plant,placing it at the heart of Tamil Nadu’s claims of being the ‘Detroit of India’. Among the tech majors,Dell,Samsung,Nokia,Flextronics and Foxxconn have also set up plants.

On the other hand,even as Tamil Nadu boils over the war in Sri Lanka and the looming humanitarian crisis,in Sriperumbudur the issue raises barely a whimper. With the enormous memorial for Rajiv,drawing visitors from across the country,in the backdrop,people say they are not sure what they can do in the matter.

The Congress isn’t worried about this either. “The Sri Lankan Government has refused to listen to even France and Britain,” says a middle-level party functionary,calling the Tamil concern an Opposition “exaggeration”. “There is no sympathy for the rebels except among a small section. But they have almost never voted for the party. The general public is aware that the Centre is doing its best.”

The large-scale investment,and the resultant jobs,are uppermost on many minds. “In the past few years,this area has grown into an industrial hub,which is having a good effect on indirect employment and land prices,” says Rajaraman,a private company employee and DMK sympathiser.

Delimitation also means that a substantial chunk of voters from Baalu’s former seat South Chennai,a DMK support base,are now in Sriperumbudur. Having nurtured that seat carefully with subways,bridges and roads,Baalu shifted along with them.

“Assembly segments like Alandur,Pallavaram and Tambaram account for a large number of votes for the party. Baalu has spent a lot of time and energy to ensure there are not many complaints about him as an MP,” says Sridhar,who has been distributing pamphlets door-to-door the past few days.

However,there is some disquiet in the Congress ranks about Sriperumbudur not going to it in the seat-sharing arrangement with the DMK,with protests being seen even at the state Congress headquarters.

Baalu’s main rival is A K Moorthy of the PMK,who held the portfolio of minister of state for railways during the A B Vajpayee Government. He was elected last time from neighbouring Chengelpet,which is now no longer a constituency.

To counter Baalu’s profile and record,Moorthy flashes the accessibility card. He launched his campaign by riding around on a cycle — Baalu,in contrast,zips through the areas he is not familiar with — and approaches voters personally,talking to them in the local slang and telling them they can catch him by his collar if he does not fulfil their needs.

While Baalu claims the support of urban areas that have been added to Sriperumbudur,Moorthy’s strength are the rural areas,now housing industrial plants. The PMK has taken a stand against land acquisition and there have been protests against many proposals,including airport expansion.

The Vanniyar community,represented by the PMK,has a sizeable presence among the 1.1 million voters,though not significant enough to win the election. The DMK is expecting to garner the Dalit votes through its alliance partner VCK.

Sriperumbudur,Tamil Nadu

Candidates

T R Baalu,DMK

A K Moorthy,PMK

M Arun Subramanian,DMDK

BACK STORY

2004 A Krishnaswamy,DMK

1999 A Krishnaswamy,DMK

1998 K Venugopal,AIADMK