In TN’s largest constituency, Sholinganallur, its fast-expanding IT corridor and older village pockets are voting with one demand — solutions for civic woes. And, they are not shy to explore new options either.The seat has added nearly 1.7 lakh voters since 2011, as combined vote share of traditional parties dropped from 96% to 79% in 2021. In contrast, the vote share of newer players grew from 3% in 2016 to 18%. Yet, voters still largely weigh in on the practicality of who will form govt because every project needs big-ticket investment, govt sanction and execution.Along OMR, a largely migrant urban electorate is framing its vote around returns for taxes paid, flagging gaps in drinking water, sewage and infrastructure despite years of growth. Harsha Koda of FOMRRA, which has more than 1 lakh voters, said they weren’t willing to accept another promise of “we’ll do all this in five more years” but at the same time, want to be practical about how administration works.
“People here voted for DMK in 2016 but AIADMK formed the govt. And, whenever we went to the MLA about problems, he‘d say they were out of his hands,” he said. “So, people are closely watching trends on who will form govt as we know govt and ministry play a big role in the development of OMR.”DMK and its candidate Arvind Ramesh on this front may have an edge as they have initiated big ticket ongoing projects from metro rail, ₹730-crore KfW stormwater drain work, Global Sports City, ECR elevated corridor and underground sewage line work, besides reclaiming at least 100-acres of the Perungudi dumpyard. “Big-ticket projects were launched only in the last five years. And, Rome wasn’t built in a day. So, we need consistency to see results,” said Satish Galley of OMR.Though DMK is strong in its old OMR areas such as Semmenchery, Okkiyampet, and Karapakkam, Arvind Ramesh may face a challenge in resettlment colonies relocated from core city under AIADMK govt. They are about 1 lakh voters.People in these colonies of Perumbakkam, Semmenchery and Kannagi Nagar turned to DMK after 2016 for being forcefully relocated by AIADMK. But now, they are looking at the results. “Drug menace and women safety are the biggest problems in Perumbakkam. Unaddressed civic issues such as poor water supply and poor quality slum board tenements have been testing people’s patience. They don’t have jobs either. So, the resettlement colonies will weigh in for a change,” said S Sujata, who campaigns for women safety and against drug menace.AIADMK has been raking up sanitation worker issues, as a chunk of these people work with private contractors. But, its candidate K P Kandan, who won in 2011 last, may have to connect with the 50% new electorate. M Nallathambi, heading the Perumbakkam TNUHDB All Towers RWA, said anger may have eased among some people, who traditionally vote between the two parties. “And, youngsters and women might move towards change.”
But DMK retains an organisational lead, with its cadre network playing a key role during the SIR exercise, helping restore names after nearly 1 lakh deletions.DMK’s Arvind Ramesh, says, “We have executed big-ticket projects. If people have any issue, they can call me and I will follow it up. People will vote for me because they know if they call the MLA, I will attend to it.”AIADMK’s Kandan said DMK still hasn’t solved drinking water issues and that traffic problems have only increased. “It was AIADMK that modernised streetlights in OMR, and provided treated seawater,” he said.In 2024 LS polls, under Sholignanallur assembly segment, DMK got 1.7 lakh votes while AIADMK and BJP, which contested separately, got 1.45 lakh votes combined. So, the outcome this time might tilt depending on how far this expanding electorate is willing to drift to newer parties.
