Tamil Nadu elections: Can DMK's Dha Velu hold on to ever-evolving Mylai?

Mylapore, with its Pallava-era temples and churches built by the Portuguese, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban settlements in South India. Fisherfolk, Tamil Brahmins, Nagarathar merchants, and the urban middle class coexist in this congested sprawl.

Dha Velu of DMK is aiming for re-election from the constituency spanning Santhome, Foreshore Estate, Kutchery Road, Alwarpet and Mandaveli. Only T K Kapali has been an MLA twice from the seat, though in different parties – he won in 1977 as a DMK candidate and crossed over to AIADMK and won again in 1980. AIADMK has won thrice in a row – in 2006, 2011 and 2016 – but changed its candidate every time.

BJP, as part of NDA led by AIADMK, has fielded Tamilisai Soundarajan to take on Velu. The last time BJP won the seat was in 2001 in alliance with DMK – K N Lakshmanan. BJP has strong pockets of support, which can help when the party aligns with one of the dravidian majors.




Mylapore has elected women thrice – Anandanayaki (1971), Valarmathi (1984), and Rajalakshmi (2011) – and Tamilisai is a high profile candidate. However, sections of BJP workers on the ground are unhappy that former state president K Annamalai was not fielded by the party. Tamilisai, on her part, appears confident. “This is a constituency with heritage and urban character. There are a lot of issues such as solid waste management, untapped tourism potential among others to be addressed,” she said.

Sitting MLA Velu has a strong party network, but faces pockets of local discontent, in areas that flood every monsoon and among fishing communities in Foreshore Estate and Nochi Nagar. “We have addressed the flooding issue by laying storm water drains for 44 km – through Luz, Nageswara Rao Park, P S Sivaswamy Salai and M K Amman street. The only issue is allotment of houses to slum tenements – they wanted us to provide temporary houses and provide in situ development. We will be doing it this term, said Velu.

NTK has added a twist by fielding a brahmin candidate, R L Arun. The number of votes NTK polled in the constituency rose from 2,356 in 2016 to 10,124 in 2021. “We have always stood with the oppressed communities over the past 16 years. In Mylapore too this will work in our favour,” said Arun.

TVK candidate P Venkataramanan can be expected to garner votes among youth.

The contest looks to be tight. Mylapore constituency has changed. The terraced houses of Tamil Brahmin families in the old mada streets have given way to apartments, and an expanding cohort of IT professionals and young migrants have moved into Abhiramapuram and Alwarpet .


The absence of an AIADMK candidate makes its vote transfer crucial – whether it consolidates behind the BJP or fragments could decide the outcome.
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