JOIN USWhen a candidate hopped on to her husband's auto-rickshaw
Candidates taking a ride on an auto-rickshaw during elections is quite common. But what made the auto-rickshaw ride of S K Ponnuthai, the CPI(M) candidate from Tirupparankundram in Madurai, special is it was none other than her better half – her husband Karunanidhi – who was at the wheels.
The picture of the couple smiling at each other in their auto-rickshaw went viral on social media a few days back.
“For many politicians, travelling in an auto-rickshaw is an advertisement. For me, it is the auto-rickshaw that got me three-square meals all through these years,” Ponnuthai told DH from Madurai.
Ponnuthai is a full-time CPI(M) worker, while Karunanidhi ekes out a living by driving an auto-rickshaw. He has been doing so for the past 16 years. The two met while they were working for the party, and got married eventually – both wanted to spend the rest of their life only with another political worker.
A grassroots worker, Ponnuthai has been at the forefront of several pro-people agitations and is popular among political circles in the temple town. In Tamil Nadu, where money flows like water during elections – the Election Commission has categorised the state as "expenditure sensitive" – the 46-year-old woman candidate is just banking on people's support to win the April 6 election.
“I am being supported by comrades from our Left parties and friends from other alliance parties. My only hope is the people. I am sure they will vote for me. People want someone from among them to raise their voice in the Assembly,” she added.
Ponnuthai is pitted against AIADMK's Madurai strong man, V V Rajan Chellappa, and AMMK's David Annadurai, son of late Assembly Speaker K Kalimuthu in the constituency known for its famed Lord Murugan temple.
Madurai has voted for very simple candidates from the Left parties in the past – P Mohan, Nanmaran, and incumbent MP Su Venkatesan. “The lifestyle of a comrade never changes even after coming to power. I will continue to lead a simple lifestyle even after winning the election. When people trust you, money is not needed,” Ponnuthai said.
Karunanidhi said his wife is not new to electoral politics as she had worked for alliance candidates in the Tirupparankundram constituency in the past. “We are foot soldiers of the Communist party for long, and the nomination for my wife is a reward for all the hard work she put in for the past few years,” he said.
On the auto-rickshaw ride, all he said was, “We usually go in the same auto-rickshaw almost every day. But since she is the candidate of CPI(M), the photo became a talking point.”