BJP gets a rude shock in its ‘stronghold’ Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari: All indications were that the BJP will set foot in Tamil Nadu by winning a couple of seats in Kanyakumari district in this election.

The party toiled hard; Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself addressed an election campaign in Kanyakumari on May 8 and Union minister of state Pon Radhakrishnan, who hails from the district, spearheaded the election work there. But the results turned out to be a rude shock not only to the BJP but also to the ruling AIADMK as the DMK-Congress alliance swept the district, winning all six constituencies – Nagercoil, Kanyakumari, Killiyoor, Vilavancode, Padmanabhapuram and Colachel.

According to observers, the attempt to polarise voters on the basis of religion did not work in its favour. Further, the proposal for the Colachel international port scared the entire fishermen community. The proposal put forth a few months ahead of assembly elections caused considerable concern and the majority Christian community in the district mobilised the Christian fishermen against the Hindus who sought to pursue the project.

Pamphlets in the name of the Catholic church were circulated among Christians to support the DMK-Congress alliance to fight communal forces. "The port proposal caused jitters among the fishermen since many coastal hamlets would have to be evacuated for its construction," said a Catholic priest from Kanyakumari. This turned even traditional AIADMK supporters among fishermen towards the DMK-Congress. "Our people believe that the AIADMK may not be able to stop the port project," said a fisherman from Thengapattinam.

This poll debacle for the DMK-Congress has caused a lot of worry among consumer and trade & industrial forums who fear that the state and the Centre may lose their interest in the district. "The AIADMK lost here because of its total negligence of the district. Similarly, the BJP should try to include all people in its fold rather than polarise people in the name of religion. We appeal to the AIADMK in the state and the BJP at the centre to give our district its due and implement developmental and welfare projects," said S R Sriram, president of the district consumer forum.

It needs to be mentioned that the BJP's vote share has increased from 2.2 % in the 2011 assembly elections to 2.9 % in this election.

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