Lok Sabha Elections 2024: DMK’s A Raja eyes second term in Nilgiris as 71% turnout registered

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris constituency goes to polls on April 19, the first phase of voting in Lok Sabha Elections 2024. Voting across 102 constituencies that vote in this phase began at 7 am. The constintuency witnessed a voter turnout of 70.93% by the end of polling.

All the 39 assembly seats of Tamil Nadu will witness voting in the first phase of polling. Nilgiris is a key constituency as sitting MP and DMK candidate A Raja is up against union minister and BJP candidate L Murugan.

The key constituency, reserved for scheduled caste, witnesses a four-cornered contest this time with Raja, Murugan, AIADMK’s Lokesh Tamilselvan and Naam Tamilar Katchi’s A Jayakumar.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Union Minister and BJP candidate from Nilgiris, L Murugan casts his vote at a polling station in Koyambedu, Chennai.

DMK has fielded A Raja from the constituency. AIADMK’s D. Lokesh Tamilselvan also contesting from here. #LokSabhaElection2024 pic.twitter.com/OwVj5zv8ux

— ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2024

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Raja defeated AIADMK candidate M Thiyagarajan by a margin of more than 2,00,000 votes. He had won the seat in 2009 as well but failed to retain it in 2014.

Since 2009, the constituency has been reserved for candidates belonging to the scheduled caste. It is composed of the following assembly segments: Bhavanisagar (AIADMK), Udhagamandalam (Congress), Gudalur (AIADMK), Coonoor (DMK), Mettupalayam (AIADMK) and Avinashi (AIADMK).

As many as 1,365,608 voters shall decide the next winner from the constituency which has 24.5% of SC voters and 3.2% of ST voters.

At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is looking to make a solid mark in the southern states of the country, Nilgiris, unlike other constituencies of Tamil Nadu, is not particularly unfamiliar territory for the BJP.

Master Mathan of the BJP won twice from this seat in 1998 and 1999. However, those victories were mostly ensured during an alliance with the AIADMK or DMK.

In this term, BJP is fighting alone against both the DMK and AIADMK. According to News18 ground, BJP seems to be putting up a tough fight on the seat. Even if it does not win the seat, it stands a high chance of displacing the AIADMK from the second position.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow