CHENNAI/TIRUCHY: TVK founder Vijay choosing to contest from the Perambur and Tiruchy (East) has turned both constituencies into a high-stakes battleground where community arithmetic and anti-incumbency could reshape their Dravidian slant.
The DMK and its allies had won all the 16 and 10 constituencies in Chennai and Tiruchy respectively in the 2021 Assembly election.
In Perambur constituency, Vijay will face a direct contest with the ruling DMK’s MLA RD Sekar who won the 2021 Assembly election with a margin of 54,976 votes against the AIADMK candidate, N R Dhanapalan. In the AIADMK-led alliance, the constituency has been allotted to the PMK, which is yet to release its candidate list.
Perambur constituency, which long stood as a citadel of Dravidian and Left politics, has repeatedly sent stalwarts like Satyavani Muthu to the Assembly. She entered the Assembly for the first time in 1967 and became the Dalit welfare minister. DMK’s powerful voice Parithi Ilamvazhuthi, who later became the deputy speaker of the Assembly, is another example.
Barring 1991 and 2016, Perambur had remained a stronghold of the DMK and its ideological allies, because of the constituency’s deep-rooted working class character and its affinity towards social justice politics. For the very same reason, a TVK source privy to the developments told TNIE that Vijay, too, chose the constituency.
“It was not just Christian minorities but the vote share of Dalits is also high in Perambur constituency. During all our periodical internal surveys, Perambur topped the list where more than 50% of the participants supported Vijay. Hence, he decided to go with Perambur,” the source said.
It may be noted that Perambur is one of the constituencies which saw a higher number of voters removed during the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls. The constituency which had about 2.97 lakh voters prior to the process, now has about 2 lakh voters.
Similarly, the decision of Vijay to contest from the Tiruchy East constituency has injected fresh energy into the electoral battle, turning it into a keen contest shaped by minority vote dynamics, civic issues and the actor’s personal appeal.
Known for its sizable Christian and Muslim population, along with a strong urban middle- and working-class base, historically, Tiruchy East has oscillated between the DMK and the AIADMK. While the AIADMK’s Vellamandi N Natarajan won the seat in 2016 riding the wave of J Jayalalithaa, the DMK reclaimed it in 2021 with a decisive margin of around 53,000 votes.
According to the latest electoral roll, Tiruchy East has 2,17,397 voters, including 1,04,883 men and 1,12,460 women. The constituency, largely under the Tiruchy corporation, comprises 23 wards and includes key commercial and residential pockets such as Gandhi Market, Rockfort and surrounding areas, making it a crucial urban segment.
The DMK is banking on sitting MLA Inigo S Irudayaraj, founder of the Christhuva Nallenna Iyakkam (Christian Goodwill Society), who has built a strong grassroots connect, particularly among Christian communities.
Addressing reporters on Sunday, Irudayaraj struck an aggressive note against Vijay, daring him to contest exclusively from Tiruchy East instead of opting for multiple constituencies.
He expressed confidence of securing a massive victory margin and alleged that Vijay had remained silent on issues concerning minorities, further accusing him of indirectly aiding the BJP.
The AIADMK has fielded G Rajasekaran, a first-time contestant and educationist associated with an engineering college in the city.
Positioning himself as a local candidate, Rajasekaran questioned Vijay’s familiarity with ground realities. “While Vijay may be popular as a film star across the state, Tiruchy East voters are rooted in local issues. I was born and brought up here, and have witnessed the city’s transformation,” he told TNIE, adding that voters would distinguish between “perception and reality” on polling day.
