In Jayalalithaa's constituency it's angry women v/s drunk men

The sounds of constant skirmishes between drunken men and their wives permeate the air in the narrow and heavily congested by lanes of DG Colony, part of the RK Nagar constituency in Chennai. The sight of men, some as young as 15 years, walking drunk with saliva dripping from their mouth is not uncommon either.

It would have passed off as just another day in this colony of ice factory workers, port coolies and fishermen. But this time, both J Jayalalithaa and her bête noire M Karunanidhi have promised to do a Bihar in Tamil Nadu if voted to power. Both have promised to introduce prohibition in the state. This poll promise has the women of RK Nagar excited, and the men scoffing at it as a "draconian poll promise."

RK Nagar is a star constituency, with AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa contesting from here. After being forced to step down as Chief Minister in 2014, following a court verdict on her culpability in the disproportionate assets scam, Jayalalithaa made a comeback in 2015 by winning the by poll from RK Nagar.

With Jayalalithaa promising to introduce prohibition in phases, her own constituency might be a test of whether a state so heavily dependent on revenue from the sale of liquor can introduce prohibition.

A study done by an organisation Satta Panchyata Iyakkam (SPI) in 2015, estimated that almost one fifth -- 13 million of Tamil Nadu's 68 million population -- is alcoholic. The study estimated that the state lost almost Rs67,000 crore due to health issues arising out of rampant alcoholism while gaining Rs25,000 crore from the sale of liquor every year. The study highlighted the problem among lower income groups where women bore the repercussions of the state's burgeoning alcoholism phenomena.

None would know it better than Jayanthi (34), a mother of three. She works as house maid earning around Rs4,000 a month while her husband works as a driver bringing home Rs9,000 a month. "My husband comes home drunk every evening. On days he does not work he is outside the liquor store at 10am while I am lining up outside the ration store" says Jayanthi. The economic repercussions of alcoholism in the state becomes evident in the case of Jayanthi. Her husband gives her Rs3,000 which is almost a third of his salary "for running the house". Out of the money, she pays Rs2,500 as the rent for their two room tenement. She then digs into her own income to spend on food, education and medical expenses.

As the conversation carries on, we are joined by a few men and women. One of the men, Parthiban, in his early 50s says, "Men here do back-breaking work. It is not the state's responsibility to tell men what to do after they have worked 10 hours day loading and unloading goods at the port."

Jayanthi, quite aghast at the suggestion, tells him, "Your time is over. You have drunk yourself to death. In this colony young children have started drinking. I am worried about the future of my own kids if I were to stay in such an environment."

A few steps down the street is the house of Sulekha (31), a mother of two infants. Her husband is a port coolie and a regular drinker. She says, "He reacts violently when nudged to stop drinking and contribute more to the household. He has done considerable damage to his shoulders from the heavy lifting he does at the harbour. He says he drinks to ease the pain."

When women are asked whether they support Jayalalithaa's promise to introduce prohibition in phases or Karunanidhi's promise to enforce total prohibition in a single stroke, most support the latter's stance. Sulekha adds, "We will vote for whichever party shuts the liquor shops. It doesn't matter how they do it, but they should be closed permanently."

It is quite ironical that in this particular division of Jayalalithaa's constituency, the number of liquor vending shops has doubled from three to seven during the time she was in power.

Just across the street is the house of local DMK member and a fisherman V Ramesh. He points towards his nephew Shekhar, who is visibly drunk, his mouth frothing at the edges. "Look at him. He lines up outside the liquor store every morning and does nothing throughout the day. But prohibition is not the solution. In fact I can assure you that the party which enforces prohibition will be thrown out of power. The state is running on liquor revenue."

Desappan (38), a transport business owner adds, "Women vote for a party which gives them the most money and biryani. Men in RK Nagar vote only for the party which gives them their promised quota of liquor."

With RK Nagar having some 500 more women voters than men, Jayalalithaa may have a hard time keeping her poll promise.