Nilgiris: Can Union Minister L Murugan Defeat DMK’s Sitting MP A. Raja? (image-X/Murugan_MoS)
Located on the western border of Tamil Nadu, the Nilgiris district is set to witness an intense electoral fight between the DMK”s incumbent MP, A. Raja, the AIADMK”s Lokesh Tamilselvan, and the BJP”s L. Murugan. However, the sitting MP claims that the actual battle between the DMK, AIADMK, and the saffron party is not really a worthy contender.
In the 2019 election, the DMK MP secured 5.4 lakh votes (around 54 percent of voter share), surpassing the AIADMK’s M. Thiyagarajan, who won 3.4 lakh votes (over 33 percent voter share). After two years, the BJP has fielded a candidate for the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The former national general secretary of the SC division of the RSS, Mr. Murugan, was heavily inspired by Hindutva ideology during his college days, which led him to join the right-wing student organisation ABVP and later the RSS. After pursuing his law degree from Dr. Ambedkar Law College in Chennai, he received his master’s degree and PhD at the University of Madras. As a practicing lawyer, Mr. Murugan has appeared in several cases representing the BJP.
In 2011, he contested the Rasipuram seat in the state assembly elections on a BJP ticket but lost. As the vice chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, Mr. Murugan had asked the Tiuchi police to probe the “love jihad” angle, claiming it was spreading in Tamil Nadu in the case of Dalit BJP functionary Vijay Raghu’s murder. Moreover, he claimed that opposition parties, including DMK, Congress, and the Left, had spread “false propaganda” to agitate the Tamil Nadu farmers during the farmers’ protest in 2020-21.
Mr. Murugan became the first member of the Arunthathiyar community to become a Union Minister since independence. The BJP State President has 21 criminal cases against him (as of August 2021), which is the most of any minister in PM Modi’s cabinet. In December 2020, Mr. Murugun was detained for launching the “Vetri Vel Yatra,” or Victorious Spear March, without the police’s permission. The march was aimed at exposing the “anti-Hindu narrative” and “minority appeasement” in the state, reported Newslaundry.
The primary issues faced by the local people include lack of proper planning to boost tourism, infrastructure, lack of employment opportunities outside of the hospital sector, and polluted water bodies.
Although A. Raja enjoys a loyal voter base, his controversial remarks on “sanatana dharma’ have created troubles for him among the Badagas community, Nilgiris’ single largest ethno-linguistic group. The BJP playing his remarks up to show the DMK as “anti-Hindu” has further made the DMK MP a staunch critic of the Hindu right wing, creating support among the Badagas for the BJP and PM Modi, which could potentially impact the electoral results in the hilly region.
Reserved for SC community, the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency comprises Vidhan Sabhas including Bhavanisagar (SC), Udhagamandalam, Gudalur (SC), Coonoor, Mettuppalayam, and Avanashi (SC). According to the 2011 census, there are 24.04 percent SC voters and 2.59 percent ST voters. In terms of religion, there are 7.75 percent Muslim voters and 7.56 percent Christian voters in Nilgiris constituency.
