Lok Sabha Polls 2024 | Face-off: Nainar Nagendran vs Robert Bruce

The two are contesting from Tirunelveli.

Having served as a minister in his first term as an MLA, AIADMK leader Nainar Nagendran sprung a surprise when he joined the BJP in 2017, months after the death of J Jayalalithaa.

A businessman and an amenable politician, Nagendran was first elected to the Assembly in 2001 and was made a minister by Jayalalithaa. He lost the 2006 Assembly polls, and wasn’t made a minister despite winning the 2011 Assembly elections.

After having lost in 2016, he felt sidelined in the AIADMK and jumped ship. He successfully contested the 2021 Assembly polls and is now the BJP legislature party leader.

Nagendran, who belongs to dominant Maravars, is helping the BJP win over several communities in the region. Nagendran has come under attack from the DMK after officials seized Rs 4 crore from three men on their way to Tirunelveli. There are allegations that the arrested persons were supporters of Nagendran and the money was being transported to distribute to voters.

A lawyer by profession, Robert Bruce is a long-term Congressman and is based out of neighbouring Kanyakumari district. As a young politician, Bruce had made several attempts to contest from the erstwhile Nagercoil constituency (now Kanyakumari) but got the seat only now.

He was also associated with late Congress veteran G K Moopanar. A Christian Nadar, 62-year-old Bruce has served as the AICC observer for the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections and Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 election.

Bruce’s candidature fulfilled a long-time demand of Christian Nadars from the region that their representative should get an MP seat. There was a delay in naming Bruce as the candidate as there was immense lobbying by other aspirants including a former MP and an incumbent MLA.

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