With his trademark black shawl, Vaiko definitely looks formidable. Congress candidate Manik Tagore, who is pitted against the MDMK chief, knows the power of his opponent — the most vociferous supporter of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. The Lanka issue indeed threatens to shatter Congress’ dream in Virudunagar.
“The sun is beating down, like fire. Muthukumar embraced this fire, for the Lankan Tamils...,” Vaiko says, invoking memories of Muthukumar, who set himself afire in Chennai on January 29.
He then paints the plight of Tamil civilians in all its gory details. “Thousands of Tamils are being murdered in Lanka. Many starved to death. Whatever relief India army sends reaches the Sinhalese. Don’t vote for the ‘hand’ stained with Tamil blood,” he thunders at Avalsoorampatti, 4 km off NH.
As Vaiko winds up his speech, Chandra Mohan, a merchant in Chennampatti, says, “Sri Lankan problem is the main issue in this election. It will affect the Congress. The other problems like power cut have always been there, no matter which party rules.”
Not everybody is so sure. “Lanka? We have enough violence at home. Everyday our men come home drunk and beat us up. These parties also give them liquor at poll time. So we don’t like any party,” says Sokkamma, who works in one of the numerous small-scale matchstick-making units in this district.
One Gangammal fetches a handful of rice from the kitchen. “Smell this rice we get from the ration shop for Re1. We can only give it to cows and goats.” The widow, who earns Rs900 from her work at a local school and pays Rs200 as rent for her house in Avalsoorampatti, has to buy rice at Rs22 a kilo.
With his hand on the voters’ pulse, Vaiko treads cautiously. “My opponents are saying I don’t have anything else to talk about but the Lankan problem. I have been speaking about all problems faced by Tamils. But reporters highlight what I have say about Lankan Tamils,” he says.
Throughout the campaign, he lambasts the Karunanidhi government for the low-quality PDS rice, frequent power cuts, neglect of the farm sector, corruption, nepotism, and of course, its inability to influence alliance partner Congress to bully Colombo. Vaiko was elected an MP in 1998 and 1999 from Sivakasi (redrawn as Virudunagar by the Constituency Delimitation Commission). In 2004, the constituency was retained by his party MDMK, when it partnered with the Congress and the DMK.
