Civic issues trump national policies amid three-cornered battle in Chennai South

BJP takes a gamble by fielding Tamilisai Soundararajan in Chennai South, targeting Brahmin and IT community votes.

Some political watchers say the biggest gamble the BJP has taken this election is its decision to field Tamilisai Soundararajan, formerly the Governor of Telengana and Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, from Chennai South Parliamentary constituency.

The party will be betting big on Ms. Tamilisai, as Chennai South has the biggest population of Brahmins in a Lok Sabha seat in the State, as Mylapore, T. Nagar, and Velachery command a sizable portion of the community vote. Incidentally, the constituency is also home to the ‘IT crowd’, as it encompasses the areas that have grown phenomenally in the last decade as part of the information technology (IT) corridor.

It is expected that both the DMK and AIADMK would retain their voting percentage, while the BJP will be banking on the community to come out and vote en masse for its candidate instead of merely being strident supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media platforms.

For Ms. Tamilisai, credited with popularising the BJP across the State during her stint as party president for nearly five and a half years, this segment’s voter turnout may be crucial to even dream of a victory.

Ms. Tamilisai said she would focus on improving civic amenities such as waste disposal and sewage treatment mechanisms and improving the livelihood of urban poor, especially women. “My ultimate focus will be on empowering women. I have planned to train students, particularly girls, who want to pursue their career in politics,” she said, She added that she would release her plan for Chennai South in a couple of days.

Ms. Tamilisai is pitted against Thamizhachi Thangapandian, who quit academics to join the DMK over a decade ago, after being promised a career in politics by the party patriarch M. Karunanidhi. She is also the sister of State Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, and the incumbent MP from the constituency. Despite the trashing the DMK and its representative received for their response in reaching out to flood-affected people in some parts of the constituency in December 2023, it will go all out to get Ms. Thangapandian re-elected. She is articulate, deeply Dravidian, and friendly with the people. But personality may not be enough for her to win again.

The DMK’s ‘Dravidian Model’ of governance over the past three years will be put to the test here.