DMK misses Raja in his backyard Perambalur, AIADMK jubilant

He may be cooling his heels in Delhi's Tihar Jail for his alleged involvement in the 2G scam, but the developmental work and the projects he executed in this reserved constituency are the main plank of the ruling DMK, which is facing a tough competition from arch-rival AIADMK.

However, the multi-crore 2G spectrum scam, which the CAG estimated had caused a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the country's exchequer, seems to have no impact at least in this constituency, which was nurtured by Raja over years after he became Perambalur MP in 1996. Perambalur adjoins Tiruchirappalli district.

Though a few educated and well-off people in Perambalur spoke about the 2G scam and its implications, people in rural areas like Velur, Raja's native place, say they had no clue of what the scam was and how much money did the country lost.

People fondly remember Raja as a "good and humble" person who executed a number of development projects and brought several educational institutions to the district, which has never seen such facilities. He shifted to Nilgiris seat in 2009 after Perambalur became de-reserved in the delimitation exercise.