STAR WARS in Mylapore
With the elections in mind, Rediff.com has launched Citizen Election Reporter, through which citizens can share their views on the elections in the states that go to polls. Here's a piece I submitted today:
The quiet, residential locality of Mylapore is steeped in the history of Chennai. Mentions of Mylapore bring to mind the majestic Kapaleeswara temple, the famous Chitrakulam tank, the Santhome Church which is close by, and even the Dabba Chetty Stores, which is part of the city's heritage.
Mylapore will witness a star-studded fight in the upcoming elections. The ADMK has fielded S.Ve. Sekar, the veteran comedian, who has ruled the Tamil drama scene with his popular dramas. The DMK has allotted the constituency to Napoleon, the lanky hero who now represents the Villivakkam constituency (also in Chennai).
Chennai has traditionally been a bastion of the DMK, but S.Ve. Sekar will be hoping to buck that trend in these elections. Two factors are in his favour. Firstly, S.Ve. Sekar needs no introduction at all. The same goes for Napoleon too, but the former is definitely the more popular of the two. Secondly, Mylapore is a predominantly Hindu residential area, so S.Ve. Sekar should be able to cash in on the Hindu vote.
Also, the voters in Mylapore might wonder why Napoleon has been shifted from the Villivakkam constituency to their's. Indeed, there are some rumours floating around that Napoleon is not very popular in his current constituency, and his chances of re-election from there are not bright. However, he is known to be a fiery speaker, and can woo the masses. On the contrary, S.Ve. Sekar laces comedy even into his election speeches.
Whoever wins, Mylapore will be one of the constituencies to watch. The stars are in action, and it is heating up!
[Update] CNN-IBN video [Thanks Kaps for the information]
posted by Vijay Krishna Narayanan @ 10:17 PM
9 comments
9 Comments:
VK,
this should be an interesting tussle. apart from Mylapore, what all localities does the Mylapore constituency comprise of?
Don't forget that S Ve Sekar lost his deposit in the previous elections (when he represented the BJP?)
Hi Kaps
S.V Sekar contested as indepedent in 1989 assembly election and won 650 votes
He polled 50 votes more than Navalar Nedunchezian(the perpetual Number 2 of Tamil Nadu Politics) who too contested as independent
The BJP currently holds the seat.Its candidated Lakshmanan won the 2001 elections by over 6500 votes .BJP contested with DMK support
BJP'S traditional support based in the seat is around 10000-20000 voters though i am not sure whether Chandralekha who is contesting as Janata-BJP candidate will be able to reap this voteshare
I think the traditional BJP voters might go to S.V Sekhar as he is essentially a BJP sympathiser who switched to AIDMK for better electoral prospects
Hope Chandralekha (with the help of Subramanya Swamy) may split the Hindu (esp Brahmin) Votes, which may be a good thing for Napolean. if Chandralekha able to get around 2500 to 3500 votes, then it will be a tough for S Ve Shekar. And also most of the ADMK-ians are not supporting this guy, where instead of them he got seat.
Eshwar, I think Napoleon won by a handsome margin in the last elections. The main reason he has been shifted out of Villivakkam is anti-incumbency. Napoleon just has NOT done anything to this constituency. Also, this is a trade union-dominated constituency.
There is also another contestant in Mylapore from the young party 'Lok Paritran'. The candidate's name is Santhanagopalan Vasudev, an economist from New York University. Looking at the responses from Mylaporeans, i guess he'll make a good debut!
I think it is about time people voted based on intent and credentials rather than stardom.
Guys, What about Santhana Gopalan? Any Hopes for him
He was doing a Door to Door campaign in Mylapore today. Looks very promising....Hmmmm
Remember more than Hindu, BJP factors Mylapore has a large number of people from the educated class.
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