Tamil Nadu elections: Will DMK hold on to its Chennai fort?

This metropolis was DMK's citadel even when AIADMK was helmed by late matinee idol M G Ramachandran until it was breached by J Jayalalithaa in 1991 and later in 2011. Riding on people's anger in the aftermath of the 2015 floods, the DMK put up an impressive show by winning 10 of the 16 seats at stake in the city, against its 2011 tally of two.

And with no Jayalalithaa around, the DMK is working overtime to get back its bastion by fielding candidates in 15 seats, allotting only one constituency – Velachery – to ally Congress. DMK has much stakes in Chennai for some of the star candidates of the party like its President M K Stalin, and his son Udhayanidhi have entered the fray from here.

While Stalin is seeking re-election from Kolathur, Udhayanidhi is testing his electoral fortunes from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni, a constituency his grandfather and late DMK chief M Karunanidhi represented thrice in the Assembly.

Thousand Lights is another constituency where BJP's Khushbu Sundar is taking on DMK's formidable Dr N Ezhilan, physician of Karunanidhi and a strong proponent of social justice, in the minority-dominated constituency. BJP has attached importance to Thousand Lights and Harbour, where the party has fielded candidates, with leaders like Amit Shah and J P Nadda campaigning.

Also read: Nadda targets DMK for 'foul' language against Dalits

Livelihood issues have taken centre stage in Chennai this election with street vendors and small businesses taking a severe hit during the Covid-19 lockdown. Auto drivers and those who depend on daily wages to eke out a living feel the government did not do enough to help them during the pandemic.

“My auto was lying idle for three months, and even when I began riding it, I did not make much money for a few months. All we got from the government was Rs 1,000 per month. We found the lockdown very difficult and the government's help was very minimal,” Arumugam, an autorickshaw driver in T. Nagar, said.

Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) is also hoping to make inroads in the city as it feels young urban voters would support the party which scored more than 90,000 votes in all three Lok Sabha seats in 2019 polls.

“Chennai will go back into the lap of the DMK. It was pretty clear even from the manner the ruling party gave away constituencies in the city to BJP and PMK, knowing fully aware that they will lose,” senior journalist R Bhagwan Singh told DH.

While Stalin, former mayor Ma. Subramanian (Saidapet), Udhayanidhi, P K Sekar Babu (Harbour), and M K Mohan (Anna Nagar) look comfortable, there is intense fight in constituencies like R K Nagar, Royapuram, Virugambakkam, Mylapore, and T. Nagar.

R K Nagar and Royapuram are strongholds of the AIADMK with Jayalalithaa herself representing the former in 2015 and 2016. Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar is banking on his “good image” and “welfare schemes” of the AIADMK government to get elected from Royapuram for the sixth time.

In Mylapore, dominated by middle-class, AIADMK's incumbent R Natraj, retired DGP, is putting up a tough fight against the DMK nominee. AIADMK is pinning its hopes on T. Nagar as incumbent B Sathyanarayana is taking on J Karunanidhi, brother of DMK MLA J Anbazhagan who died of Covid-19..