Constituency Watch: Katchatheevu, fishermen’s issues dominate political discourse in Nagapattinam

Ever since the Katchatheevu island issue was raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, Tamil Nadu has been witnessing heightened political activity with leaders raising allegations and counter allegations on the issue cutting across party lines.

Expectedly, the issue has become a talking point in the Nagapattinam Lok Sabha constituency, where the INDIA bloc has fielded CPI leader V. Selvaraj against AIADMK’s Surjeet Sankar and S.G.M. Ramesh of the BJP, who’s the son of late Communist leader S.G. Murugaiyan.

Fishermen’s issues are also dominating the political discourse in Nagapattinam, which has a stretch of 187 km of coastal area.

Since January 1, around 124 fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy, which also impounded more than 20 mechanised boats costing large sums of money.

The Nagapattinam fishing hamlet has 1,064 mechanised boats, the largest in the state.

Prime Minister Modi recently raised the Katchatheevu issue and accused the erstwhile Congress government of handing over the island to Sri Lanka in 1974 with the connivance of then DMK Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, triggering a major political debate, especially in Nagapattinam.

Farming is another major vocation for the people of this constituency that falls in the tail end of the Cauvery Delta region, where paddy cultivation is done on around 1.37 hectares of land. This makes water supply from the Cauvery River a major issue in this region.

While Karnataka has been accused of denying Cauvery water to the state, the announcement of the construction of the Mekedatu dam has caused apprehensions among the farming community of the region.

This issue seems to have put the INDIA bloc candidate and senior CPI leader V. Selvaraj on the back foot, as the Congress, a key constituent of the opposition alliance, is in power in Karnataka.

The Congress government in Karnataka has allocated around Rs 8,500 crore for the construction of the Mekedatu dam, which could lead to reduced water flow from Cauvery into Tamil Nadu, thus affecting the farmers in Nagapattinam.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, CPI candidate M. Selvarasu defeated M. Saravanan of the AIADMK by a margin of 2,11,353 votes.

The constituency comprises six Assembly segments — Nagapattinam, Kilvelur, Vedaranyam, Thiruthuraipoondi, Thiruvarur, and Nannilam.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Nagapattinam Assembly seat was won by VCK leader Aloor Shanavas who defeated AIADMK’s Thanka Kathiravan by a margin of 7,238 votes.

Kilvelur assembly seat was won by Nagaimaali of the CPI-M in the 2021 assembly elections defeating PMK leader ,Vadivel Ravanan by a margin of 16,985 votes. In the ,Vedaranyam seat OS Manian of the AIADMK defeating SK Vedarathinam of the DMK by a margin of 12,329 votes.

The Thiruthuraipoondi Assembly seat was won by K. Marimuthu of the CPI, who defeated C. Suresh Kumar of the AIADMK by 30,068 votes. DMK’s K. Poondi Kalaivanan won the Thiruvarur Assembly seat by defeating A.N.R. Panneerselvam of the AIADML by a huge margin of 51,174 votes.

The Nannilam seat was won by R. Kamaraj of the AIADMK who beat DMK’s S. Jothiraman by a slender margin of 4,424 votes.

Thus, the candidates of VCK, DMK, CPI, and CPI-M — which are all part of the INDIA bloc now — won four of the six Assembly seats in 2021, while the remaining two seats were won by the AIADMK, which was in an alliance with the PMK, and the BJP.

However, elections for the Lok Sabha are quite different and the past results in Assembly polls cannot be taken as the benchmark for predicting the outcomes.

Commenting on the contest, BJP candidate S.G.M. Ramesh told IANS, “Our party is contesting to win the elections. We have reached out to almost all the voters in the constituency. We are showcasing the exceptional governance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The developmental initiatives taken up by the Modi government have given us the opportunity to connect with the people of Tamil Nadu. I strongly believe that there would be a shift in the psyche of the voters in Tamil Nadu, and we will win many seats, including Nagapattinam, this time.”

While the BJP leader sounded confident of winning the polls, some locals predict a tough contest in Nagapattinam.

They say by fielding the son of a respected Communist leader, the BJP will cut into opposition votes.

K.R. Palainiappan, a local fisherman, told IANS, “Fishermen from the region are regularly attacked by the Sri Lankan Navy. Many community members are languishing in prison, while our costly mechanised boats are also being impounded, causing misery to us. Both the Central and state governments have been found wanting on this issue, though of late the Centre has shown some interest in this matter.”

He also said that Prime Minister Modi raising the Katchatheevu issue has brought the matter to the centre stage, as to how and why the island was given away to Sri Lanka on a platter.

R.Shakthivel, a political analyst-cum-psephologist based out of Tirunelveli, told IANS, “Nagapattinam has been a traditional stronghold for the Communists, which gives the CPI candidate an edge. But after the Prime Minister raised the Katchatheevu issue, the BJP has gained some ground. Also, its candidate S.G.M. Ramesh hails from a Communist family and could cut into some Left votes. While the AIADMK also has its traditional support base in the constituency, I feel CPI’s Selvaraj has an edge right now.”