Kancheepuram Lok Sabha Constituency: It's a straight fight between the Dravidian parties

The Kancheepuram Lok Sabha constituency comprises six Assembly segments.

The reserved constituency of Kancheepuram on Friday will witness a straight fight between the two Dravidian majors, the BJP having given away the seat to its ally, PMK. Usually, Kancheepuram reflects the prevailing voting pattern of its neighbour, Chennai.

The DMK has fielded the incumbent MP G Selvam against the AIADMK candidate E Rajasekar, a first time contestant. For PMK, Jyoti Venkatesan takes on the two Dravidian parties to give it a three corner touch.

Being a reserved constituency, DMK ally and Dalit party Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) had requested it be allotted the Kancheepuram seat to contest. However, the DMK, hoping for a repeat performance, chose to field Selvam for the third time.

Selvam 's record for the last five years has not been all that happy for the electorate as he has been largely inaccessible and rarely seen at public events. The need to have a good hospital and doubling of Kancheepuram-Chengalpattu railway line - to overcome the regular delays and to enhance train services - are other issues. Yet, the DMK banks on a weak opposition to retain the seat, with its traditional vote bank and the support of VCK.

In the 2014 election, contesting alone, AIADMK’s K Maragatham had defeated Selvam by over 1.46 lakh votes. The tables were turned in 2019 polls when the party fought in alliance with BJP (and PMK) and Selvam defeated Maragatham by over 2.86 lakh votes. The BJP and the Modi factor have little influence in this region.

Apart from being a Dalit-based constituency, it also has a strong Vanniar support base. The seat was, therefore, given to PMK, which allied with the BJP, instead of the AIADMK. Had PMK joined the AIADMK, the latter would have been in a stronger position in the contest. The PMK on its own is unlikely to match up to the contest in Kancheepuram.

The Kancheepuram Lok Sabha constituency comprises six Assembly segments of Chengalpattu, Thiruporur, Cheyur, Madurantakam, Uthiramerur and the handloom belt of Kancheepuram.

Former Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswamy, campaigning in Kancheepuram on Monday promised to bring down the power tariff and also present the hardships of the looms in the Parliament, if his party candidate is elected.

But the AIADMK is yet to regain the charisma that former party chiefs, MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa lent to the party, to win such constituencies.

Despite the voter disenchantment with the incumbent, the DMK is likely to do well as the AIADMK and the PMK are in different camps.