Lok Sabha polls 2024: It all boils down to religion in bipolar Kanyakumari

Southern-most tip of mainland is known for polarisation between Hindus and Christians

Kanyakumari: In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and Congress emerged as the winner and runner-up in the communally sensitive Kanyakumari constituency when they contested alone without an alliance with the AIADMK and DMK. The two Dravidian parties were pushed to the third and fourth spots respectively.

The constituency, which shares borders with Kerala, has always been a bastion of the national parties with Christians, who form over 40 per cent of the electorate, siding with the Congress, and Hindus, especially Nadars and Pillais, largely forming the support base of the BJP, which won an assembly seat in the district on its own as early as 1996.

Located in the southern-most tip of the Indian mainland, Kanyakumari is known for its polarisation between Hindus and Christians, whose rivalry dates back to at least a couple of centuries. BJP wrested the seat (formerly Nagercoil) from the Congress for the first time in 1999 in an alliance with the DMK but lost every other election till it emerged victorious in 2014. It eventually ceded the seat to Congress in the 2019 elections and again in 2021 by-elections.

The constituency consisting of Kanyakumari, Nagercoil, Colachel, Vilavancode, Padmanabhapuram, and Killiyoor assembly segments has a total of 15.57 lakh voters, with women accounting for 7.80 lakh.

Congress versus BJP

Congress has fielded incumbent MP Vijay Vasanth, son of businessman H Vasanthakumar of Vasanth & Co, while the BJP has relied on its well-known face Pon Radhakrishnan, who lost to the father and son in 2019 and 2021 – both Hindus, and belonging to entrepreneurial Nadar caste.

While there is no doubt that the two parties will get their core votes this time as well, the million dollar question is whether the likely split of votes of fishermen, who are predominantly Christians, between AIADMK and Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) will hurt the Congress this time or the national part will ward off the challenge.

The fishermen votes

Both parties have fielded candidates from the fishermen community -- Nazareth Basilian (AIADMK) and Maria Jennifer (NTK) – and they are likely to win a chunk of their votes. However, the Congress is confident of making this time as well banking on the votes of minorities and a significant portion from the Hindu side as well.

Basilian, who was deputy secretary of the DMK fishermen wing, joined the AIADMK in November 2023 and the party fielded him to woo the fishermen community. Maria’s speeches on the need to protect the environment and usher in a change are quite popular among NTK supporters and on social media platforms.

It all boils down to religion

Both Vasanth and Radhakrishnan are popular and seem to have people’s confidence. While Radhakrishnan is remembered for expediting development projects during his 2014-2019 tenure including speeding up work on Nagercoil-Thiruvananthapuram National Highway, Vasanth is known for his constant touch with the people and being on the ground.

But, when it comes to voting, it all boils down to religion.

“I am a Hindu. I will only vote for thamarai (Lotus, BJP’s election symbol. I am not bothered who is contesting from Congress. My vote is only for the Hindu party (BJP),” Thangappan, a tender coconut seller, told DH. “Yes, me being a Hindu and saying it out loud matters here (in Kanyakumari),” the 62-year-old man said.

Rigash, who hails from the fishermen community, wants to vote for NTK as he is a “fan” of NTK leader S Seeman but he is being convinced by his father to vote for the Congress to prevent the split of votes. “Vasanth is a nice man and he has done a lot of work here. I want to vote for Seeman but my father is asking me not to vote for NTK this time as the split in fishermen vote might help the BJP,” the youngster told DH.

The constituency needs a lot of improvements in terms of infrastructure development and tourism with people batting for better facilities for tourists. The people also want the existing National Highway road projects to be completed at the earliest, but their priorities seem to be different as they head to polling stations.