The results of the bypoll to the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha constituency being held along with assembly polls on April will impact the position of the two parties in Parliament, but both Congress and BJP are not willing to take any chances as they fight it out to win the election.
Bye-elections to Kanyakumari, formerly known as Nagercoil, is being held due to the death of incumbent H Vasanthakumar, an entrepreneur who founded the popular multi-brand appliance showroom Vasanth and Co, in August 2020. The constituency is considered as one of the very few strongholds of the BJP in Tamil Nadu – the party won the seat in 2014 without the support of DMK or AIADMK.
BJP has fielded its most popular face in the constituency – former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan who won in 1999 and 2014 – while the Congress has fielded Vijay Vasanth, son of late Vasanthakumar. The BJP has attached much importance to the bye-election with Union Home Minister Amit Shah campaigning for Radhakrishnan in the last week of February.
Read | Amit Shah campaigns in Kanyakumari for Lok Sabha bypoll
For BJP, a victory in Kanyakumari will not just enthuse its cadre as the party makes an aggressive push in Tamil Nadu but allows it to go to the town saying the anti-Modi wave that swept through the state in 2019 elections has dissipated. Though Radhakrishnan lost the 2019 poll by a huge margin of 2,59,933 votes, the party has renominated him due to his “popularity” in the district.
“We feel the 2019 elections were polarised by the Opposition parties. We now want to win this bye-election to send across the message that people in Tamil Nadu will accept the BJP. We also feel much water has flown down the bridge since 2019,” a BJP leader said.
In its bid to retain the seat, the Congress fielded Vijay Vasanth as it felt the “sympathy” for Vasanthakumar, who was quite popular in the region, will help win the people's confidence. The party was under pressure from Christian Nadars to field someone from their community – Ruby R Manoharan's name was suggested – but it went ahead by nominating Vijay Vasanth.
While Congress pins its hopes on Christian Nadars, the BJP's main vote bank is Hindu Nadars – both parties polarise the votes capitalising on the long-standing rivalry between the two communities to win elections in this constituency. Radhakrishnan hopes the “development works” that he did during 2014-2019 would come handy for him, while Vasanth Kumar is solely depending on his father's name.
As many as 15,67,627 persons are eligible to vote in Kanyakumari bypolls. Since 1952, the Congress has won the seat 11 times, the BJP twice, the Tamil Maanila Congress twice and the CPI(M) and the DMK once each.