Heated tri-corner contest anticipated in Nanguneri, a dry agrarian region with no dearth of caste issues

The Nanguneri Assembly segment, a backward region where agriculture is the prime livelihood even though water for irrigation is scarce, will witness keen tri-corner contest among the Congress, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhgam and the newly floated Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam this time.

Nanguneri, an agrarian region, was with Indian National Congress in the first three Assembly polls since 1952 and DMK got it for the first time in1971. After Janata Party’s M. John Vincent, who won this constituency with a thin margin of 204 votes in 1977, joined AIADMK in 1980 to get elected again with improved performance of 4,049 votes and this victory margin grew further in 1984 to 14,018 votes.

The next election in 1989 went in favour of the DMK as AIADMK was then a ‘divided house’ after the demise of founder M.G. Ramachandran. Even though the AIADMK wrested this seat in 1991 after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the CPI, an ally of the DMK, got it in 1996.

After the AIADMK bagged Nanguneri in 2001, H. Vasanthakumar of Vasanthi & Co won this constituency as Congress candidate in 2006 and AIADMK got it back in 2011. Even though Vasanthakumar won the 2016 battle, he became Kanniyakumari MP in 2019 and resigned as Nanguneri MLA. Reddiyarpatti V. Narayanan won the by-election necessitated by Vasanthakumar’s resignation.

In 2001, renowned builder Ruby R. Manoharan, who lost the by-poll to Mr. Narayanan, bagged Nanguneri.

Interestingly, T.T.V. Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam got 31,870 votes in 2021 as Nanguneri constituency houses sizeable number of Marvar community voters. Hence, the party has been allotted this seat for the April 23 polls also in the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance and one Esakki Muthu has been fielded. Even though the Congress is yet to announce it candidate for Nanguneri, Mr. Manoharan, the current MLA, is likely to be fielded again.

And, the poll battle hots-up further as Mr. Narayanan, after leaving the AIADMK for not giving him ticket, is in the fray as the TVK candidate this time.

Since this dry agrarian region gets water from Manimuthar dam whenever the district’s largest reservoir overflows, crop cultivation, mostly paddy and banana, is based on the release of water from this dam. The river-linking channel that traverses this constituency to bring the surplus water of the Tamirabharani to Karumaeniyar and Nambiyar rivers has revived farming in many dry areas while improving groundwater to improve drinking water supply to some extent.

And, the ₹465 crore drinking water project nearing completion is likely to provide permanent solution to the drinking water crisis prevalent in most of the villages of Nanguneri constituency. Frustrated over the dry condition prevailing in more than 10 months of every year, a few thousand families suffering from unemployment have left their birthplace in search of greener pastures in Tirupur, Coimbatore, Chennai and even Mumbai.

Hence, when the Tamil Nadu government came out with the announcement of Nanguneri Special Economic Zone, it was expected that it would be the panacea for all the problems – unemployment and caste clashes – prevailing in this region. However, it hasn’t happened even after 25 long years!

As the agonizing wait continues, the ‘non-starter Nanguneri SEZ’ has become a poll issue once again.

However, the unemployment and the casteism being catalysed by the leaders of all the castes, keep this constituency boiling.

The recent gruesome attack unleashed by an armed gang on the innocent public at Perumpaththu Indra Colony near Nanguneri is an evidence to this tense situation. The double murder and the hacking of five others by an armed gang have badly impacted the voters as the seven young suspects belong to a particular community while the victims are from other castes including Scheduled Caste.

“My students, during private conversation confide that this attack had been orchestrated to demonstrate caste supremacy of a dominant caste in Nanguneri, who already enjoy enormous money, muscle and political power. I believe that these teen students’ parents or relatives might have sowed this theory in their mind. Hence, it is very clear that this development has resulted in caste polarization in Nanguneri which will certainly impact the poll results also. Caste leaders have already started fanning this issue to stop their community voters from supporting the candidate belonging to this dominant group, my students say,” a woman postgraduate assistant of a government higher secondary school in Nanguneri taluk says.

The police and revenue department officials too endorse the teacher’s claim.

“We’ve to work overtime to watch all these developments so as to prevent any untoward incident during electioneering for ensuring peaceful polling in Nanguneri on April 23,” said a senior revenue department official.

The only solace for the backward Nanguneri area as of now is the Tamil Nadu Government’s proposal to set-up two industrial estates at Nanguneri and Moolaikkaraipatti for which land acquisition is reportedly going on, if this revenue official’s claim is to be believed.

Published – April 01, 2026 09:40 pm IST