KANYAKUMARI: “No matter what facilities we provide or promises we give, members of the church in the coastal areas will blindly cast their vote for the symbol their parish priest picks,” laments N Manikandan, a Hindu Nadar Sabha representative and ardent BJP loyalist of his ward while electioneering for his party candidate and sitting MP

.

The autorickshaw driver hailing from Krishnankovil near Vadaserey says he has seen parish priests signalling the congregation with code words at the Sunday sermon before the elections. “If they say it should be filled with greenery it means vote for AIADMK and if they say the sun should shine bright, you know what it means,” he said adding that this was not the case in temples where the priests don’t have a say in influencing votes.

“This time we will do what the elders and parish priest decide. We will have a discussion before the decision is taken,” L Vargeesh, president of Fishermen’s Integrated Development Society of

, a fishing village on the

border, said. As many as 32 fishermen of the village had died in

. Darwin, the parish priest of Vallavilai village, said there were reasons for the fisherfolk to have such strong faith. “Fishermen have been neglected by governments over the years. They are also the least priority for MLAs and MPs,” he said.

Though most priests of the Roman catholic church in the region don’t hail from the locality the villagers see them as part of the village and family and as facilitators who pray and stand by their side. The priests too step forward and fight for the cause of fishermen when their lives or livelihood is at stake. “Two weeks after Ockhi, the Navy called off search for the missing fishermen. Our church spent Rs 22 lakh on fuel for 16 boats that went in search of the men. They rescued more than 20 fishermen who were stranded in deep sea. We also gave compensation to those who lost boats and are supporting families of dead and affected fishermen,” he said. However, Darwin denied that they try to influence voters. “It is their duty and right. We don’t try to influence them,” he said. Church and parish priests also play an important role in deciding votes in the coastal villages in Tuticorin and Ramanathapuram districts that have a sizeable coastal Christian vote bank.