Kanniyakumari is one of the two constituencies in a Dravidian fortress where the two parties are in a direct contest.
As we stroll through the Vavathurai and Kovalam coasts of Kanniyakumari, speaking to the fisherfolk as they prepare to set out to the sea, an anti-BJP sentiment seems palpable. “The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shouldn’t come to power again,” an elderly fisherman named Mariasusai tells us. “Many of us in this area are Christians, and for us to survive, the BJP shouldn’t be re-elected. Look at what happened in Manipur.”
Political analysts contend that the electoral battles in Kanniyakumari — which has a unique religious constitution of about 48.65 percent Hindus, 46.85 percent Christians, and 4.2 percent Muslims as per the 2011 census — often boils down to religion. “This time we have no qualms admitting that it is about religion because it is a matter of life and death for us,” says Mariasusai. The fisherman, who is in his late 60s, is seated on a boat at the Vavathurai fishing port with four of his friends, carefully inspecting a fishing net for damages. He and his compatriots are all voting for Congress candidate Vijay Vasanth, he says, and the others nod along.
Vijay Vasanth, who is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) in Kanniyakumari, had defeated BJP candidate and former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan in the 2021 bye-election, by a margin of more than 1,37,000 votes. Kanniyakumari, in fact, is one of the only two constituencies in the Dravidian fortress of Tamil Nadu, where the two prominent national parties are taking each other head-on in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The other such constituency is Tirunelveli.
The Congress has joined hands with the state’s ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in a grand alliance called INDIA, formed by a total of 41 political parties to prevent the BJP from winning a third term to form the Union government. “All 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu will elect the DMK alliance,” Mariasusai says with conviction. “Like Kerala, we too will not yield any seat to the BJP this time.”
This story was originally published in newslaundry.com. Read the full story here.