Chennai: Senior BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu are scouting for new constituencies to contest in the assembly election, driven by caste calculations and local support. State president Nainar Nagenthran, who previously won from Tirunelveli, is weighing a move to Sattur in Virudhunagar district. BJP sources cite two factors: a sizeable thevar votes in Sattur and a perceived rise in ‘anti-BJP’ minority votes in Tirunelveli.DMK‘s enhanced attention in Tirunelveli after chief minister M K Stalin’s instruction to prioritise the southern segment is also cited as a reason for Nainar’s rethink. Besides thevars, Tirunelveli segment has a large number of pillai, nadar, dalit and Muslim voters. Another BJP leader, K Annamalai, who contested from Aravakurichi in Karur district in 2021, has turned his attention to Coimbatore. He contested in Coimbatore in 2024 LS election and polled 4.5 lakh votes. Meanwhile, Vanathi Srinivasan, who won from Coimbatore South last time, is likely to contest from the neighbouring Coimbatore North seat now.Tamilisai Soundararajan, who contested from Virugambakkam in the last Assembly polls, has shifted focus to Mylapore after her preferred T Nagar seat is being sought by AIADMK district secretary B Sathyanarayanan. The BJP has since made her campaign in-charge for Mylapore, where she has begun groundwork, targeting the constituency’s nadar, vanniyar and brahmin vote blocs. Party leaders also point to BJP securing nearly one-third vote share in the area in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as a key factor behind the move.In the south, former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan is preparing to return to Assembly politics after nearly a decade and is eyeing Nagercoil, which has a significant nadar population.
