MADURAI: Sattur constituency in Virudhunagar district has become the cynosure of attention with BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran shifting to the AIADMK stronghold from his home turf Tirunelveli this time. He will face off against DMK’s A Kadarkarairaj, who lost to R B Udhayakumar in 2021.Theories of the reasons behind Nainar’s constituency shift include favourable caste arithmetic in Sattur, and a perceived dissatisfaction among minority community in Tirunelveli. A majority of voters in Sattur belong to the mukkulathor community, from which Nainar is too, followed by naickers, Kadarkarairaj’s community. BJP sources said they have a strong base in Sattur with booth committees formed for all 291 booths. Nainar has said he switched seats following a request from AIADMK for Tirunelveli seat.
The DMK candidate is a familiar face in Sattur and its surrounding areas, being a party worker for 20 years. A party functionary who didn’t want to be identified said caste factor may not work in the constituency as it was local minister K K S S R Ramachandran’s stronghold. “He personally oversees works in the constituency, and villagers see him as an altruist,” he said. Kadarkarairaj, along with the minister has started meeting VIPs, business people and communal leaders to canvass votes. Past achievements and promises in the present manifesto are being publicised, he added. “Minister Ramachandran has resolved the drinking water issue under ‘Tamirabarani Integrated Drinking Water Scheme’. We started receiving water twice a day after this,” he added. BJP district treasurer M Marikannu told TOI that AMMK’s mukkulathor vote-bank would help BJP. “In the previous Lok Sabha election, BJP’s Raadhika Sarathkumar got 20,000 votes from that community alone in Sattur. BJP came first in nearly 10 booths and second in 50. Even if caste arithmetic works, we believe Union govt’s schemes will give us an advantage,” he added.AIADMK sources claim that the party, along with AMMK, had roughly 1 lakh votes. “Nainar has a great chance of winning and the anti-incumbency factor will stand him in good stead,” he added.
