Coimbatore Constituency: BJP Awaits Breakthrough In 'The Manchester of South India' (image:twitter.com/ECISVEEP/)
The BJP is looking to make a breakthrough in the Coimbatore constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The high-stakes race in the “Manchester of South India” features key contenders, DMK leader Ganapathy P Rajkumar, Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, and AIADMK”s Singai Ramachandran. Coimbatore, the second largest city in Tamil Nadu is an eye-catching constituency in the first phase of election which falls on April 19.
Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency is made up of six assembly segments: Palladam, Sulur, Kavundampalayam, Coimbatore South, Coimbatore North, and Singanallur. A report from Vikatan News estimates that the constituency currently has around 2,083,034 voters, including 1,030,063 men and 1,052,901 women. According to the 2011 Census, 13.3% of the voters are Scheduled Castes, while 11.98% are Muslims and Christians.
Coimbatore is part of the Kongu region, historically a stronghold of the AIADMK. The region is home to a large population of Gounders, a dominant caste group that has traditionally been a key support base for the AIADMK. Coimbatore is a major urban centre and 82.6% of the voters reside in urban areas, while the surrounding areas are more rural. Reports indicate that Urban voters tend to be more supportive of the DMK, while rural voters tend to support AIADMK.
The Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency showcases a distinctive political landscape with less dwelling on the traditional bipolar Dravidian political divide. Over the course of 19 elections, left-wing parties, including the CPI(M), have secured victory eight times, while the Congress has won six times. In 2019, CPI(M) candidate Natarajan P. was elected as MP, highlighting the left-wing”s ongoing influence in the region.
The BJP has only won once, in 1998, when the Coimbatore bomb blast was leveraged as an election strategy. The BJP”s vote share has fluctuated over the years, starting at 49.21% in 1998 and subsequently declining to 38.74% in 2004, 4.6% in 2009, and 32% in 2014, before increasing slightly to 33.1% in 2019.
Ganapathi Rajakumar, the DMK-INDIA alliance candidate in the election is a former mayor and a PhD candidate. Kamal Haasan has actively participated in the election campaign for Ganapathi Rajakumar, lending his support. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Kamal Haasan”s Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) secured 11.6% of the vote in Coimbatore. This time, however, MNM is not contesting the election and has aligned itself with the DMK.
The BJP has fielded its state chief, K. Annamalai, a former Karnataka cadre IPS officer and according to myneta survey 26 criminal cases are pending against him. Meanwhile, Singai Ramachandran, an “young” IIM-Ahmedabad graduate, is contesting on behalf of the AIADMK.
The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition INDIA Alliance are locked in a competitive campaign to secure a third term in power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Coimbatore at least three times, including twice in the last three months, The Quint reports . His recent roadshow in the city was part of the BJP”s campaign strategy to strengthen its foothold in Tamil Nadu ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. At the end of the roadshow, Modi paid tribute to the victims of the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blasts.
The DMK is resolute in its efforts to prevent the BJP from gaining a foothold in Tamil Nadu. With Minister Muthuswamy actively involved in the Coimbatore campaign and Minister DR Palu Raja appointed as in-charge, the party is fully committed to secure victory. The party”s decision to field its candidate in the Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency, rather than supporting one of the Left parties as it has done in the past, marks a significant shift in strategy. This decision is believed to be influenced by senior DMK leader and former minister Senthil Balaji”s advice and believes that it could play a decisive role in consolidating anti-AIADMK and anti-BJP votes in the region.
(This story is part of a Timeline. internship project.)
