Vaiko leans on Lanka issue to charm Virudhunagar

THIRUMANGALAM: As Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary V Gopalasamy climbs the dais in sun-baked Thirumangalam, a crowd of a few hundred that are milling around yearn to hear what they like to hear from him best: The plight of Sri Lankan Tamils.

He does not disappoint them, holding out on the pitiable condition of their Tamil brethren in Sri Lanka, vividly describing how ���Rajapakse���s army is ripping open the wombs of pregnant Tamil women and chopping the fetuses���. His voice breaks, he wipes a tear from his eyes, and the crowd is touched in adequate measure.

In the Virudhunagar constituency, Vaiko is pitted in a four-cornered contest against Manik Thakur of the Congress, DMDK���s corporate honcho-turned-politician K Pandiarajan, and cine star Karthik of the Naadalum Makkal Katchi which has an alliance with the BJP.

If the Sri Lankan problem is indeed the main poll issue in Tamil Nadu, as it appears from the way all leaders dwell on it, no one would be better placed to win the election than Vaiko. It was for a speech in Thirumangalam on the LTTE issue that he was imprisoned on charges of sedition, and Vaiko is keen to dish out more of the same fare without crossing the fine line of the law.

���The Delhi TV channels showed the residence of Prabhakaran and the liquor bottles in his house. Good Lord! He does not even drink tea or coffee. Do these channels bother to show all the atrocities of the Sri Lankan army, the visuals of Tamil children cut to pieces?, Vaiko asks to the approving nods of the crowd.

As the speech reaches a crescendo, a nearby church bell chimes, and through the church���s public address system comes the Bible scripture, ���There shall be showers of blessings���. ���Let those blessings fall on the 3.5 lakh Tamils in Mullaitheevu, who are in such dire straits���, remarks Vaiko, drawing another round of applause.

Vaiko���s exact opposite is Ma Foi founder and DMDK candidate K Pandiarajan, who is bringing corporate discipline into his campaign and going about his promotional work with the clinical precision one would expect from a top honcho.

���I have covered over 1,000 villages so far, and done 50 days of campaigning, the most by any candidate���, says Mr Pandiarajan, who says he is confident of winning. ���The constituency has a number of cottage industry sectors like matches, crackers, paper and printing, but there is a lot of unemployment as well. Former MPs have not addressed these issues seriously���, says he.

Congressman Manik Thakkur was last off the blocks in campaign work, but the Congress camp is hopeful of a strong performance, while NMK���s Karthik struggles to bring his cinematic halo to bear in the four-cornered contest.

Virudhunagar constituency replaces Sivakasi, known internationally for its firecracker industry. When Vaiko arrives for campaign speeches, crackers are lit at almost every venue. ���He has done a lot of work and is the right person to articulate the problems of Sri Lankan Tamils���, says Santosh Kumar, a cotton trader from Thirumangalam. ���And we will burst more crackers when the results come���, say Vaiko supporters standing around.