Anna Nagar is considered one of the more well-developed constituencies in the city. The assembly constituency covers areas such as Anna Nagar, Kilpauk, Aminjikarai, Shenoy Nagar, Naduvankarai. Many of these localities top the real estate markets of Chennai.
Anna Nagar constituency boasts of many amenities such as parks, playgrounds, good schools and connectivity. “Parts of the constituency with its rich neighborhoods could be compared to those in Singapore” says Mr Ratna Singh, President of Residents Welfare Association Asiad, Anna Nagar Tower.
Voter Base
The constituency had a total of 2,85,165 electors in 2016 of which 1,41,481are male and 1,43,634 are female. The voter turnout for 2016 assembly elections was 60.07%.
The Anna Nagar constituency has been a stronghold of the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) for over 5 decades.
Incumbent MLA
- Name: M K Mohan
- Party: DMK
- Age: 63
- Address: Plot No 1202, Z Block, 6th Avenue, Annanagar, Chennai 600040.
- Email: mkmelection@gmail.com
- Contact Number: +91 9384877779
- Profession: Business of Brick Manufacturing & Agriculture
- Criminal cases: None
Source:MyNeta
2016 Assembly Election Results
| CANDIDATE | PARTY | VOTES | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| M K Mohan | DMK | 70,812 | Won |
| S Gokula Indira | AIADMK | 69,726 | Lost |
| Suresh K | BJP | 8,832 | Lost |
| Mallika Dayalan | MDMK | 6,384 | Lost |
| Akhilesh A M | PMK | 5,402 | Lost |
Read more: Anna Nagar: Minister vs. millionaire
In the news
The incumbent MLA of Anna Nagar constituency, M K Mohan (DMK) is the richest MLA in the Tamilnadu legislative assembly. He was elected after the DMK regained the constituency from ADMK after losing the fortress in 2011. He had served as a local corporator before being fielded as the MLA candidate in 2016.
As a candidate from the constituency in the 2016 elections, Mohan had promised to be in regular contact with his contituency over his tenure, holding regular monthly meetings. He made a host of other promises, such as a toll free number for citizen complaints and a separate manifesto for every ward in the constituency.
In 2019, an investigative report shed light on how a private company, of which M K Mohan was a Director, sought to shape the party’s political strategy during the pro-Jallikattu protests in 2017.
In 2020, his name came up in regard to a civil property dispute in which a retired police sub-inspector was allegedly assaulted by the police. In this, the sub-inspector alleged that his repeated complaints against the assaulter were ignored by the police, because the latter was personally related to the MLA through his wife. The TN State Human Rights Commission eventually directed the government to pay a compensation of Rs 50000 to the complainant.
Key Issues
1. Traffic congestion is a pressing issue in most localities of the constituency, including Anna Nagar and Aminjikarai. Due to haphazard parking of vehicles and movement of vehicles in these busy roads, traffic is a menace here. The signal timings and the lack of vacant spaces for parking vehicles has increased the congestion in roads. “The traffic is so intense that sometimes it takes more than an hour to commute less than 6 km. A multi-level car parking is the need of the hour to battle traffic woes,” says Srikanth A, resident of Anna Nagar east.
2. Noise pollution and air pollution are other prevalent issues that arise due to the presence of industries in the neighbourhood. “The noise and pollution caused by these industries near Aminjikarai has shattered the peace and calmness of this locality”, says Jaykumar, a technical assistant at Anna Nagar Post Office.
3. The poorly maintained sewerage lines get blocked in Shenoy Nagar often. This causes leakage and bad odour in the neighborhood. “Once in three months the pipelines get blocked and the Corporation takes about two to three weeks to respond. It’s no less than a nightmare to live here during such times” says Artii, an undergraduate student at Madras Christian College.
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Mr.M.K.Mohan, M.L.A. was a honest and very decent good Model Politician who spent from his pocket inspite of being an Opposition Party M.L.A. where his hands were tied. We should encourage such people to come to power to serve people irrespective of Party Backgrounds. Then only the Political Parties would field such good candidates. We can vouch how freely, Businesses were conducted without any political interferences and infact, everyone were encouraged through honest methods.
I am living for 50byears in anna nagar. I don’t know any M K Mohan. Never seen him. Nobody came to our rescue in times of crisis. We solve all our problems by ourselves by meeting the respective depsrtments of the government. These people come to power only to safe gaurd thier looted money and derive benefits out of their post.
The author quotes from a 2016 article from The Hindu regarding the assurances then made ( monthly meetings, toll
-free number, ward-wise manifesto etc.).
However, no comment is made on whether the promises were kept. That is more relevant at this moment of the 2021 Assembly Elections when this article is being writte.
The usefulness of this article would have then been greatly enhanced, besides being in keeping with the Citizen-centricity that this e-mag pursues.
Not many even know the MLA’S name let alone seen him. He never came to our area in 5 years nor did any development work.