In our series, covering profiles of key constituencies across States and Union Territories during the Lok Sabha elections, we will today bring you a report on Virudhunagar seat in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu will vote for the Lok Sabha elections in a single phase on 19th of this month. The State has 39 Lok Sabha constituencies. Virudhunagar seat is internationally famous for cracker and printing industry. The constituency has Six Assembly segments and a total number of 15 lakh 55 thousand 186 voters ready to exercise their franchise.
Akashvani Correspondent reports that in the Virudhunagar Lok Sabha Constituency, Thiruparankundram, Thirumangalam, Sattur, Sivakasi, Virudhunagar, Aruppukottai are six Assembly segments in which four constituencies belong to the DMK and Congress Combine and two belong to the AIADMK. Thiruparankundram is located in Madurai District and is famous for its temples. Sivakasi is known for its multi-million dollar firecracker and safety matches industry with more than thousand cracker manufacturing units.It is also called as little Japan because of the production of printing modern-day requirements. Sattur is well known for manufacturing steel rolling mills and manufacturing of fountain pen nibs.
Virudhunagar is also famous for the production of chicory, coffee seeds, millets, dry chillies and pulses. The constituency has been in existence since 2009. The incumbent of the Lok Sabha Constituency is B.Manickam Tagore from the Congress. He contested and won the constituency in 2019 also. He contested in 2014 and lost and was in the fourth position. This time it is a three-cornered contest in Virudhunagar. A total of 27 contestants are in the fray. As BJP is contesting the election along with smaller allies its strength in the State will be tested this time.
The party has fielded Popular Actress Radhika Sarathkumar opposite Congress Candidate Manickam Tagore. The star couple Radhika and her husband Sarathkumar joined the party recently after Sarathkumar merged his party, the Samathuva Makkal Katchi with the BJP. This is the first time that his wife, actress Radhikaa is contesting election. Born to legendary actor M.R.Radhaa, a fierce Dravidian speaker and actor, Radhikaa, who has been ruling the silver and the small screen industry with a variety of well-known soap operas will now test the political waters from Virudhunagar. Another popular candidate who is new to electoral politics is Vijaya Prabhakaran the son of late actor-politician Vijayakant, the founder of DMDK, which is now an ally of the AIADMK.
