Power, transport talking points as AIADMK, DMK battle it out

Chennai, Apr 29 (UNI) The ruling AIADMK and the opposition DMK will have a tough tussle in the minority-dominated Alandur Assembly constituency in Kancheepuram district with the electorate's loyalty almost equally distributed between the two parties.

The constituency is semi-urban, with a total voter strength of 4,39,677 including 2,17,276 women. It was won by the AIADMK in 1977, 1980, 1991 and 2001 and by the DMK in the 1984, 1989 and 1996 Assembly elections.

Though there are 15 candidates in the fray, it is a foregone conclusion that for the May 8 Assembly poll, the battle is between State Rural Industries Minister P Valaramathi and Kancheepuram District DMK Secretary T M Anbarasan.

Ms Valarmathi is approaching the people with achievements of the last five years including relaying of 405 roads in the entire constituency at a cost of Rs 23 crore, flood control work and improving basic and transportation facilities. She wants one more chance to complete the pending work.

She said apart from routine campaigning, she is going from door to door seeking the voters support, to which she said she had good response. She has also met the office bearers of the residential and flat owner welfare associations frequently to seek their support.

Still, problems persist, continuous power supply being one of them. A fabricating workshop owner at Adambakkam said he could not run the workshop regularly as there was frequent voltage fluctuation. This problem affected homes too, as appliances could not be used.

For Ms Manju, the difficulty is transport facilities. A resident of Nanganallur and employed in a call centre in the city, she finds daily bus travel to and fro wearisome as the buses are inadequate.

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