CHENNAI: The city’s electoral chessboard is now set with knights, bishops, rooks and pawns in place. DMK has several anchors on the board, with chief minister M K Stalin contesting from Kolathur and deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin from Chepauk–Triplicane, besides several senior ministers.DMK is banking on its governance record and a mix of veterans and fresh faces with grassroots and youth connect. Its challenge will be to hold margins in closely fought seats, with TVK expected to cut into minority votes. In 2016, seven city constituencies — Perambur, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Harbour, T Nagar, Virugambakkam, Tiruvottiyur and Anna Nagar — saw victory margins of less than 5,000 votes, while T Nagar and Velachery remained tight contests in 2021 as well.
TVK president Vijay is in the fray from Perambur — epicentre of north Chennai traditionally dominated by Dravidian parties. Perambur’s location allows quick access to Kolathur, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Royapuram, RK Nagar and Harbour, potentially amplifying campaign impact. Vijay faces a strong DMK district secretary and sitting MLA R D Sekar.TVK could dent both DMK and AIADMK prospects in tight races, swinging outcomes either way. For the AIADMK, the immediate challenge is whether returning veterans can reconnect with a younger voter base added over three election cycles. Candidates such as K P Kandan in Sholinganallur, K Kuppan in Tiruvottiyur and M K Ashok in Velachery last tasted victory in 2011. In the decade since, voter rolls and demographics have shifted substantially.AIADMK will also be keen on reclaiming strongholds such as Royapuram and R K Nagar, which AIADMK held for two decades until 2021, with former minister D Jayakumar and Chennai North district secretary R S Rajesh in the fray.Mylapore is also back in focus with the BJP fielding Tamilisai Soundararajan, in a seat it last won in 2001 under DMK alliance. Though DMK has renominated sitting MLA D Velu, discontent over action on fishermen along Marina and Loop Road could hit his chances. NTK may split BJP’s votes here as it has fielded Arun Iyengar to tap into the sizable Tamil Brahmin community in the constituency.T Nagar is shaping up as a four-cornered fight. DMK’s Raja Anbazhagan, son of former MLA J Anbazhagan, faces AIADMK’s former MLA B Sathyanarayanan, TVK general secretary ‘Bussy’ N Anand, and NTK’s Anusha Vijayakumar, another Brahmin candidate — a move seen as targeting a key vote segment there.DMK has also moved to dismantle family strongholds in its allocations this time. In Anna Nagar, standing committee chairman N Chitrarasu replaces sitting MLA M K Mohan, whose family held influence in the constituency for several decades. In Tiruvottiyur, the party ceded the seat to ally CPM, ending the KPP family’s hold — from late ministerKPPSamytositting MLA K P Shankar and councillor K P Chokkalingam.In Villivakkam, the party dropped professor K Anbazhagan’s grandson Vetriazhagan, fielding Karthik Mohan instead. He will face TVK’s Aadhav Arjuna. Both candidates belong to dominant Telugu-speaking communities who are in sizable numbers in the seat.NTK, meanwhile, could again emerge as a spoiler. In 2021, the party polled more votes than the victory margin in several seats, effectively deciding outcomes. Its influence is expected to grow this time, aided by its presence in protests and campaigns on environmental and human rights issues, particularly around urban relocation from Adyar and Cooum river banks.
