He is expected to contest from Kanyakumari in the Lok Sabha elections. Two others from among the protesters are expected to contest from nearby constituencies, Thirunelveli and Thoothukudi. The three constituencies have a sizeable population of fishermen.
However, another senior member of the protest committee, M Pushparayan, has refused to be part of the political fight, though his name was doing the rounds for Thoothukudi. There are indications that he is unhappy about the turn of events.
The protesters, led by the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, were close to the top leadership of the AAP before the formation of the party. As an activist, Arvind Kejriwal had visited Idinthakarai, the epicentre of the protest, while Prashant Bhushan was the counsel when the petition against the nuclear plant reached the Supreme Court. Another senior leader, Admiral (retd) L Ramdas, and his wife Lalita, were also regular visitors at the village.
Udayakumar said they decided to enter the political arena to strengthen the protest against the plant.
“Both the Congress and BJP are in favour of the plant, and if Narendra Modi comes to power, he might even try to crush the protest. This is an attempt to take the anti-nuclear protest to the next level,” he said.
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