Kamal Ghorui
Trichy: The narrow rural road to V Thuraiyur, a remote hamlet 15km north of Lalgudi, an agrarian pocket in central Tamil Nadu, is packed with villagers on either side as the campaign vehicle drives through. On the vehicle is AIADMK candidate Leema Rose Martin, wife of lottery baron Santiago Martin and the richest candidate in the fray in Tamil Nadu this time. Her convoy halts when a family requests her to name their 15-day-old baby girl. Clad in a bright silk saree, Leema Rose steps out of the vehicle and obliges. “Leema Rose,” she says, naming the child after herself, leaving the young mother beaming. It’s a Hindu family, but the woman says she will not change the name given by Leema Rose. Such moments, and the enthusiastic reception, are beginning to unsettle DMK, which has held the Lalgudi seat for the past two decades. Lalgudi has been an important seat for DMK — Kanakilyanur, the native village of municipal administration minister K N Nehru, and Anbil, the native place of education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, are part of the constituency. DMK gambled by dropping four-time MLA A Soundara Pandian and fielded T Parivallal, a new face. The move has not gone down well with party supporters. Vijay’s TVK has fielded former AIADMK minister Ku Pa Krishnan. DMK nominated Parivallal hoping the party’s grassroots presence will help him sail through. What it did not expect was AIADMK fielding Leema Rose. There was no opposition in AIADMK when Leema, who had joined the party in Feb this year, was given the ticket. The answer to the acceptance, and an enthusiastic campaign by AIADMK rank and file, lay in Leema’s poll affidavit. She declared assets of Rs 1,049 crore. Her family’s assets, including that of husband Martin, are more than Rs 5,000 crore. Her net worth is way higher than the combined annual budget of Lalgudi municipality and Pullambadi and Poovalur town panchayats located in the constituency. It is not money power alone that Leema is banking on. She hails from the Udayar community and follows Christianity, and Lalgudi has a fair share of both. Even before her candidature was announced, Leema had started campaigning. “AIADMK was also strong in Lalgudi, but DMK was winning because our past candidates did not offer a tough fight. Leema is filling that vacuum,” said a party functionary.
