CHENNAI: Strolling through the narrow, bustling alleys of Sowcarpet, one cannot miss the tiny roadside outlets selling piping-hot vada pav and crisp pani puri, all along the wholesale market. Amid the chaotic hustle of rickshaws, handcarts, and countless vendors, the curious blend of Hindi and Tamil floating through the air contradicts with the state‘s avowed resistance to the imposition of Hindi.
The vibe of the working class fused with that of the trader community, with a significant North Indian population, is palpable across the streets. The congested Prakasam Road takes you to George Town, originally called ‘Black Town’ by the British, where the East India Company established its first settlement in the 1640s around Fort St George. The bustling port side commercial hub is a reminder of Chennai’s colonial past.
The Harbour constituency in which Fort St George, the nerve centre of the state government, is located, has traditionally been a DMK bastion, but has seen the winning flags of AIADMK once in 2011, when DMK faced huge anti-incumbency across the state.
PK Sekarbabu of DMK, a senior minister holding two important portfolios of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), has firmly entrenched himself in the constituency, winning the last two elections with comfortable margins. This is from where M Karunanidhi won in 1989 and 1991, just before DMK’s late general secretary ‘Perasiriyar’ K Anbazhagan of DMK hit a hat-trick in 1996, 2001 and 2006.
For several homeless families, the Stalin government’s Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam, implemented by CMDA, has come as a blessing. Sekarbabu, the chairperson of CMDA, managed to provide several houses to the homeless within the limits of the constituency and in the process, prevented their votes from being spilled out of the constituency. He also managed to get houses for pavement dwellers.
Over the years, the state government had moved thousands of families from the city to tenements in Sholinganallur, now the biggest constituency in Tamil Nadu.“Residents around George Town, who considered the homeless a nuisance, are happy. Those who got their new houses are extremely happy.
During the last five years, Sekarbabu has taken measures to assuage Hindi speaking population which traditionally voted for the BJP,” a voter said. In 2021, he defeated Vinoj P Selvam of BJP with a margin of 27,274 votes. Yet, many issues persist in Harbour. “The government did not hand over apartments to all homeless families in the Broadway area.
In Nallamuthu Street alone, nearly 60 homeless persons are still living on the pavements. The officials came to enumerate beneficiaries on a rainy day. Most of the families missed the process. Some of the families who participated in the enumeration process were also left out,” a woman, living on the pavements of Nallamuthu Street, told TNIE.
The lack of an equally strong face in AIADMK is indeed a structural advantage for the DMK. Pala Karuppiah, who won in 2011 by securing more than 55% votes, is not in active politics after the demise of J Jayalalithaa. KS Sreenivasan, who contested in 2016 on behalf of AIADMK, joined DMK.
In this election, AIADMK refused to part with the constituency to BJP and is fielding ‘Royapuram’ Mano. Projection of DMK alliance as a secularist will likely play a role in Harbour, which is a melting pot with several linguistic minorities like Hindi and Telugu speaking population and religious minorities like Muslims and Christians.
It is among the smallest constituencies in Tamil Nadu in terms of the size of the electorate. Ramu Manivannan, former head of the Political Science Department at the University of Madras, believes both Mano, AIADMK candidate, who unsuccessfully contested in 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Chennai North, and Sekarbabu are good mass mobilisers on the ground level. But, Sekarbabu has the advantage of being the sitting MLA.
“In 2021, Sekarbabu could not secure votes in certain pockets, where the BJP candidate (Vinoj P Selvam) fared well. This time also, such areas will not go to Sekarbabu. We have to see how he manages to garner votes from other areas of the constituency,” he says.
Some ambitious projects including George Town redevelopment remain in limbo. “The roads are narrow, not sufficient for the increasing traffic. There is absolutely no space for parking. While it is expected that the upcoming Broadway Multimodal Hub may ease the traffic congestion, the constituency’s health and sanitation levels are poor. The government should also take measures to address old buildings that become dangerous during the monsoon,” S Kumar, a resident, said.