It's writer vs doctor vs orator in Madurai

Traffic congestion, delay in start of metro rail works, pending construction of AIIMS are key concerns of electors

-  VIGNESH V

EVEN a glass of jigarthanda won't cool the heat of the election race from the Madurai parliamentary constituency. One of the key battlegrounds in Tamil Nadu, Madurai has a history of favouring the Congress, which has won the seat eight times since Independence, followed by the CPM which has won here four times. Interestingly, the two Dravidian majors have only won from Madurai once each the DMK's MK Alagiri, former union minister, was elected from here in 2009 the same as CPI, Tamil Maanila Congress and the Janata Party.

This time, the contest in Madurai is between a writer, a professor and a doctor. The DMK's alliance partner, CPM, has fielded its incumbent MP Su Venkatesan (54) again, while the AIADMK, whose candidate lost to Venkatesan by 1.4 lakh votes in 2019, has given its seat to Dr P Saravanan (54), an exDMK MLA, who joined the party one-and-half years ago. They will face off against the BJP's state general secretary professor Raama Sreenivasan (59).

Venkatesan was first introduced to voters in 2019 as an author and winner of Sahitya Akademi Award. Arguably best-known for his championing of the archaeological digs at the Keezhadi site, Venkatesan has a good rapport with DMK chief MK Stalin and his candidature was backed by the ruling party. This has caused some heartburn among DMK cadre who wanted the seat to be given to one of their own leaders, given the party holds four of six Assembly constituencies here. Although DMK district secretaries and cadre have slowly started to campaign for Venkatesan, they haven't been working well with CPM cadre. Still the supporters of Venkatesan, who belongs to the Naidu community, believe that his involvement in key issues, antiBJP stand, and simplicity will bring victory again.