N SWAMINATHAN
NAGERCOIL, JUNE 19
Pasilian Nazareth, who contested on behalf of AIADMK in Kumari parliamentary constituency, has lost his deposit and also gone down below Naam Tamizhar Katchi! In a free-wheel interview given to navjeevanexpress.com, Mr Nasareth, State Deputy Secretary of Fishermen wing, said he was proud and happy to contest LS polls as AIADMK candidate.
Excerpts:
Question: You got the lowest number of votes among the candidates of the main political parties. Not worried?
Answer: No sir. I know many languages. I was born as the son of an ordinary poor fisherwoman mother. My mother is a thalai sumadukkari (woman carrying weight on head). It is in our regional language. I grew up watching my mother carrying fish on her for selling. It was in that background that I felt the difficulties and studied. Being the son of a fisherman with a fighting spirit, although I am a little sad that I was not selected and could not become a people’s representative, who was well aware of the plight of marginalized people. So I don’t see it as a concern.
Q: Kumari has more than 2 lakh fisher votes. You have been let down by your own community?
A: You know that I got less votes. Hundreds of fishermen have been calling and talking every day since the election results were out. They express their concern that they were unable to vote for me. Do you know why? Fishermen community wanted to defeat BJP in Kumari, as their only concern was that if Pon Radhakrishnan wins the election, he would bring Container Port here, which will affect the livelihood of the fishermen. This was the main reason for the fishermen to vote for Congress candidate. But they still have the pain of rejecting a fisherman. Many fishermen comrades say that if I stand in the assembly elections, they will do justice to the current defeat. I take all this as a word of comfort and a sign of the love people have for me.
Q: Was your defeat due to the fact that the Congress gave a chance to a fisherman community member in the by-election to Vilavancode?
A: Have I lost? Where did I lose? Despite the votes of 2 lakh fishermen, there is not even a helicopter facility to rescue fishermen who go missing in Kumari. Hundreds of claim petitions are pending. Congress gave ticket to a fisherman in the Vilavancode Assembly bye-election because the AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswamy gave me a ticket for Kumari LS seat. AIADMK is always working for the welfare of the fishermen community, as our senior leader Thalavai Sundaram always say this. Fearing us, the Congress has given fisherman a chance and got a legislative representation. AIADMK and I are the reason for getting representation of fishermen. How can this be my failure? Although I had lost the deposit, this was a win for my principle!
Q: Getting less number of votes than the NTK isn’t the worst failure?
A: You are questioning that I had fared worst than the NTK. Let me tell you a statistic. The Marxist party has won the Kumari parliamentary seat. Bellarmine was the MP. In 2014, the CPM lost the deposit when it contested the elections alone. Bellarmine scored just under 40,000 despite having more than 80,000 union voters. When the Marxist fought alone, they got less than 40,000 votes. Congress has won 11 times and Marxists 5 times in the elections to Vilavancode Assembly seats. When contesting in the United Progressive Alliance, Marxist lost its deposit in the Vilavancode Assembly seat. Does that mean the party is doomed?
Naam Tamizhar Katchi’s vote share is now lower than the by-election. The only thing was that Kumari people have voted on a single point that they wanted to topple BJP. This is not AIADMK’s failure. The grafts of other parties have scattered in the single goal of defeating the BJP.
Q: You are not admitting your worst defeat? It is like even if you fall down, the mud does not stick to your moustache.
A: I am not telling a story but only statistics. In the last 2014 parliamentary elections, the DMK and the Congress contested separately in the same Kumari constituency. Then DMK also forfeited the deposit. Losing a deposit is bad. But what matters most is the moment we lost.
Q: Finally, what do you want to say?
A: BJP wanted Modi to continue. DMK said no. Between the two, Edappadiyar campaigned for state development. DMK and BJP contested and fielded star candidates. But AIADMK fielded simple people like me in every constituency. Since the independence of the country, no party has given a chance to a fisherman to contest in the Kumari parliamentary seat. Edappadiyar did it. In this election, AIADMK won only 20 percent of votes, without any major electoral alliance. Edappadiyar’s rule is confirmed in 2026. AIADMK will then work for the people who made me lose my deposit. You will see that too!
Q: But there is a talk that you were given a chance because no one came forward to contest for the AIADMK?
A: This is incorrect. More than thousand people had applied for seats in AIADMK across Tamil Nadu. More than 40 aspirants asked for seats in Kumari alone. With a view to give due representation to a fisherman, AIADMK gave me the opportunity contest as its candidate. Victory and defeat belong to the hero. Failure is the stepping stone to success. I will win one day soon!
