Tiruppur’s wishlist for infrastructure development was not fulfilled

Issues related to Goods and Services Tax, the woes of the farming sector, and the unfulfilled demands in the knitwear town seem to be among the factors that helped CPI candidate K. Subbarayan win the Tiruppur Lok Sabha constituency in the General Elections this year.

The Tiruppur constituency has had two Members of Parliament from the AIADMK since its formation in 2007. “We did not expected the defeat of AIADMK candidate MSM Anandan,” says an AIADMK cadre in Tiruppur town.

There are unfulfilled demands in Tiruppur related to infrastructure development. Further, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) did have an impact on several small and micro traders, who had no option but to shut shop and take up employment. These could have contributed to the defeat of the AIADMK candidate, he says.

The garment unit owners, in general, did expect the AIADMK candidate to win in Tiruppur as it is part of the BJP alliance. However, in Tiruppur, it is more a fight between the DMK and the AIADMK, says a garment exporter who did not want to be named. The DMK and its alliance cadre had done considerable work across the constituency.

Further, Tiruppur has a large number of voters who are labourers and would have been part of labour unions earlier. They would have voted for the CPI, the exporter adds.

According to a CPI member, the party’s campaign focused on demonetisation, price increase, and problems faced by farmers. The anti-Modi trend is more in Tamil Nadu.

Farmers, MSMEs and small-scale traders in Tiruppur are affected by the policies of the Central Government and wanted to vote for a change, the member adds.

Published On : 25-05-2019

Source : The Hindu