Point Of View: V.V.S. Manian
I was the first to suggest through my column that Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan should be the candidate for South Chennai, as early as January 2024. Now she is on a marathon effort to win the prestigious South Chennai constituency, from which I contested as an independent candidate against Vijayanthimala in 1984.
I also predicted that Thamizhachi Thangapandian of DMK would win the 2019 general election. This time after going around the constituency independently and making an impartial assessment, I observe that unlike the previous elections, the people are talking of the BJP. The awareness among all classes, about BJP is on the higher side. It is difficult to foresee the election outcome. It appears that Tamilisai has a slight edge and may win the election by a close margin of 10,000. The result may go in any direction depending on the next few days of work, especially in Sholinganallur and Mylapore constituencies.
I attended the meeting of the BJP party yesterday at Ullaagaram and was impressed with the crowd of 10,000 plus volunteers and office bearers in the big ground, determined to work for the success of the party. Tamilisai Soundararajan, apart from blasting DMK and Stalin, made a promise that she would take all the volunteers present, to Delhi on the day of her oath. Another promise made by the BJP is to take all women to Varanasi if the party wins in Tamil Nadu.
I rushed and presented a shawl to Tamilisai when she was about to depart and wished her success. It is also a fact to be acknowledged that this time, the grass root workers are armed well with promotional material and a good daily allowance to work in the hot sun. This is a positive motivational step that should put the volunteers to work hard in the next four days.
I wish all my friends and workers in the BJP the very best in the New Year.
This appeared on Jan 30,2024
Choice of the right candidate is crucial for the BJP
BJP’s big start in South Chennai for the Lok Sabha election
Some time back in this column, I gave a hint that Modi should contest from the South Chennai constituency. I was sure that he would walk through the election easily because of the voter profile in the six constituencies. The BJP heads in Delhi should make a shrewd choice for this politically charged constituency. The BJP will have a rough and tough ride to the winning post as these constituencies are unpredictable and DMK has a strong hold in this constituency.
I contested as an independent candidate for Lok Sabha in 1984 from this constituency. I have been watching the developments in this constituency. I know the pulse of the voters here, perhaps a shade better than the bandwagon in the BJP.
It is a five-star, high-status, elite ballot battle field that has seen stalwarts and experienced politicians like TTK, Nanjil K. Monoharan, Annadurai, T.R.Baalu, Murasoli Maran, and Vijayanthimala Bali. T. R. Baalu won four times, setting a record. In the last 16 elections, Congress won 4 times, DMK 9 times, and AIADMK 3 times (a total of 16 elections). In the last election, DMK chose Thamizhachi Thangapandian because she was qualified and impressed enough to carry voters. She polled 5,64,872 (50.28%) , J. Jayavardhan AIADMK (26.94%). This time, in 2024, DMK is likely to choose Thamizhachi Thangapandian for the second time.
The AIADMK has to find a competent candidate to give a good fight, as winning the Lok Sabha election appears to be a tough task. As far as the BJP is concerned, the quick start of the first poll office in South Chennai (SC) is in the right direction to start for the general election. Vanathi Srinivasan, who opened the SC office, sounded confident and declared that “South Chennai is favorable for the BJP. We must win it.” Vanathi should know that this constituency is very different. It is a diverse constituency with high-profile localities such as Sholinganalur, the IT hub of the state, heavy voter-based and lower social-ecnomic locations like Nochikuppam in Mylapore, which is a strong DMK hold.
To win the SC constituency, the BJP should have round-the-clock grass-roots workers. We need to have a solid team decentralized to work in Sholinganallur, which has the highest number of voters. I have been with the BJP for the last nine years and am convinced that the party is yet to improve its real working force.
Most importantly, the BJP heads in New Delhi should choose an experienced, educated, eloquent, and clean politician, not glamorous ones. I can see the competent person who can make a dint in this constituency is former BJP Chief Tamliliasi Soundarajan (no bar in governor contesting election after leaving office) and present leader K.Annamalai.
Soundararajan was responsible for the BJP’s strong presence in Tamil Nadu. Soundararajan served the Tamil Nadu state BJP unit in various capacities, starting as South Chennai District Medical Wing Secretary in 1999, State General Secretary Medical Wing in 2001, All India Co-Convenor (Medical Wing for Southern States) in 2005, State General Secretary in 2007, State Vice President in 2010, and elevated to National Secretary, All India BJP in 2013.
Soundararajan has lost in all her attempts at becoming an MP or MLA to date, having contested two Assembly elections and Parliament elections unsuccessfully. In the 2019 general electin she lost against Kanimozhi, the daughter of former CM of Tamil Nadu Kaligner Karunanidhi from Thoothukkudi. She extensively campaigned in parliament and assembly elections across the state. Somehow, Soundararajan did not get a comfortable constituency to win.
K. Annamalai is a favorite of Brahmins and middle-class voters. He is well educated, and his simplicity and frankness have earned him a good name. Many elites and middle-class voters are in favour of him in Chennai. Both are experienced and educated, which could improve the scope of winning the prestigious South Chennai constituency. One advantage is that all the Brahmin votes en masse are in favour of the BJP in Mylapore, Saidapet, T. Nagar, Virugambakkam, and Velacheri. The Muslim and Christian votes will be split between the DMK and AIADMK and not significantly in favour of the BJP.
Volatile constituency and challenges
Chennai South consists of an odd mix of voter profiles. The constituency consists of T. Nagar, Mylapore, and Saidapet. It is a combination of urban (Mylapore, T. Nagar,Velachery) and semi-urban and developing areas (Virugambakkam), elite and young educated (Sholinganallur), and a wide spread low-income colonies in all six constituencies, which have very strong DMK supporters. The DMK giving Rs. 6,000 to all card holders, Rs. 1000 for pongal, and Rs. 1000 for women has earned voters loyalty, especially in the middle- and lower-income groups in the city.
The latest figure of voters (Jan2014) of these constituencies of South Chennai Lok Sabha
Constituency Male Female others Total
1.T.Nagar 113465 116536 48 230049 11.26%
2. Mylapore 127252 135160 41 262453 12.85%
3.Velachery 152310 156074 78 308462 15.10%
4. Saidapet 131733 136536 86 268355 13.14%
5.Virugambakam 138308 139683 87 278078 13.61%
6. Sholinganallur 348262 346476 107 694845 34.02%
1,011,330 1,030,465 447 2,042,242
Percentage: 49.5 % 50.45%
South Chennai constituency has around 51 percent female voters and 49 percent male voters. The highest percentage of voters are in Sholinganallur,Velachery, and Virugambakam. The BJP has to put in a lot of work on canvassing in these areas. John Peter (Minority Wing) told me that the BJP has given the responsibility to spearhead South Chennai to Dolphin Sritharan, South Chennai President. I know Sritharan as a loyal and sincere worker for the BJP. He has to work very hard and create a good team to work in these constituencies.
As of now, the South Chennai constituency appears to have a three-tiered contest: DMK, AIADMK, and BJP. A certain percentage of its vote bank will tilt in favour of the BJP. The BJP also says it has made a dent in the Muslim and Christian vote banks in South Chennai. Ultimately, the ballot battle will be between the DMK and the BJP. It is a big challenge for the BJP to win the election.
