Among the 10 constituencies in Coimbatore district, Kavundampalyam which is renowned as the second largest constituency in Tamil Nadu will once again witness a stiff DMK-ADMK face-off in this election alongside other party candidates. Both party candidates are intensifying their campaign with each passing day on what seems to be the toughest battleground.
Coimbatore: Among the 10 constituencies in Coimbatore district, Kavundampalyam which is renowned as the second largest constituency in Tamil Nadu will once again witness a stiff DMK-ADMK face-off in this election alongside other party candidates. Both party candidates are intensifying their campaign with each passing day on what seems to be the toughest battleground.
The ADMK has fielded PRG Arunkumar who had earlier contested in Coimbatore North as its candidate in Kavundampalayam against a strong opponent in Krishna alias Paiya Gounder, who hails from the Gounder community, a strong and dominant one in the western region of Tamil Nadu. The ADMK had sidelined its sitting MLA V C Arukutty who was the winner of the two assembly elections held, citing health issues according to some political experts.
Banking on its candidate who is also with a Gounder background, the DMK believes that Krishna alias Paiya Gounder will rake in the votes to secure power. Nevertheless, ADMK’s PRG Arunkumar has been welcomed into the fray for his widely acclaimed leadership qualities. With both candidates flexing their vote bank pull, the Kavundampalayam constituency is resonating with tall promises for development in its every nook and corner.
The challenge for PRG Arunkumar would be to topple over Krishna alias Paiya Gounder since the latter seems to have a better chance to bounce back as the MLA of Kavundampalayam constituency, with his vote bank. Previous election wins record V C Arukutty as voted in with 1,10.870 votes in the 2016 assembly elections while Paiya Gounder garnered 1,02,845 votes.
V C Arukutty who seems to have had the backing of former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and ADMK leader, J. Jayalalithaa to win the elections last time, will not be contesting this time which is made more obvious by the conspicuous absence of their erstwhile leader at this election.
The stage seems to be set for the DMK even though Paiya Gounder was defeated by a meagre margin of votes. DMK party members are of the opinion that people are unhappy with the sitting MLA of this constituency as well as the ruling government and hence the clock has started to tick in favour of the DMK.
There seems to be a general murmur of dissent among the four lakh voters who are part of this constituency owing to lack of development projects. Simplicity spoke to a few sections of the voters in this constituency. While some felt that though PRG Arunkumar has the capability to make good this time, they were unsure of how many promises will actually be fulfilled this time round since there had been no marked improvement in the condition of the constituency in the last few years under the ADMK ruling government.
Voters in the Kavundampalayam constituency slammed both parties for their poor incumbency. Recently, Paiya Gounder was seen addressing the people of Thadagam valley and its adjoining villages. People in the area complained about their plight of having their area largely occupied by brick kilns. Paiya Gounder assured them quick relief once voted to power, while ADMK's PRG Arunkumar vowed that basic requirements would be met soon.
Tribal communities in the Anaikatti region and other working sections at the tail end of this constituency believe there are chances for good development projects under the DMK regime, since the ADMK seems to only be concentrating on the urban infrastructure of Kavundampalayam. "We don’t want any fancy flyovers or metro train projects. All we want is relief for all," opined activists of this hilly region.
It is also alleged that there are lack of employment opportunities for the section of people living in this constituency and hence most are forced to work on brick kilns. "The ADMK government does not seem to have brought any relief to our low wage employees by providing any jobs, thus forcing most people here to work on brick kilns and farm lands," lamented TMS Rajendran, a member of the farmers association in this region.
With both party candidates failing to address employment opportunities for the region, other election promises seem to be a far cry from the reality at Kavundampalayam constituency. Time will tell!