Constituency round-up: Sitting DMK MLA takes on 2011 winner in Sholinganallur contest

Sholinganallur has seen rapid development in terms of the growth of jobs and construction over the past few decades, but civic amenities are yet to catch up.

Sholinganallur, once a village on the outskirts of Chennai, developed over time to become an upmarket neighbourhood in the city. The growth is primarily attributed to rapid development on the IT expressway and also the booming real estate sector, that propped up residential and commercial use. 

Historically-important places like Kovalam and Mahabalipuram are close by. Sholinganallur is a densely populated constituency. The East Coast Road portion of the constituency houses the fishermen community and IT employees. Beach villas owned by bigwigs and celebrities dot the coastline.


Read more: Rs 700 crore spent annually as OMR residents wait in vain for piped water


Some of the localities within the constituency are Puzhuthivakkam, Madipakkam, Perungudi, Palavakkam, Kottivakkam, Injambakkam, Okkiyam Thuraipakkam, Medavakkam, Kovilambakkam, Perumbakkam and Chemmenchery west. 

Representative image.

Votes cast (2016) 

  • Total number of voters : 345020 (excluding postal votes)
  • Male voters : 176459
  • Female voters : 168550
  • Third gender : 1
  • Polling percentage :  57.39

2016 Election results

PartyCandidateVotes acquiredPercentage of votes polled
(As per ECI website)
DMKAravind Ramesh S147,01442.53
AIADMKSundaram N 132,10138.21
PMKRam Kumar K15,5954.51
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal KatchiPaneer Doss R15,1294.38
BJPUjagar Singh14,9154.31

Source: ECI

MLA profile

  • Name: Aravind Ramesh S
  • Party: DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam)
  • Age: 49
  • Victory margin: 14,913 votes
  • Criminal cases: None

Source: Myneta/ Affidavit information

In the news

  • MLA Aravind was part of a group of DMK legislators who met the TN Assembly Secretary to urge the assembly to pass a resolution against the Center’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens (CAA-NRC).
  • The MLA spoke up for the residents of Perumbakkam on the issue of lack of burial space, slamming the slum clearance board for their inaction on the issue. 
  • A forum for the welfare of fishermen petitioned the MLA to urge the government to stop plans to construct stormwater drains in their settlements.
  • The MLA used his local area funds to help install fences and widen the walker’s path at Madipakkam Lake

Know your candidates

S.no NamePartyAgeOccupationNo. of criminal Cases
1S Aravind RameshDMK53Business/Class 10None
2K P KandanAIADMK57N/ANone
3Rajiv KumarMakkal Needhi Maiam48Proprietor at private firm/ B.Sc (Physics)None
4R Selva VigneshIndependent26Salaried/B.TechNone
5E RajeshIndependent26Real estate/Class 12None
6D. SrinivasanIndependent31Daily wage/Class 12None
7K Senthil KumarIndependent42Daily wage/Class 8None
8S SenthilIndependent 39Daily wage/Class 10None
9  A.I Ahmed ShahIndependent27Engineer/B.ENone
10G VelavanIndependent33Daily wage/Class 9None
11P Arul RajIndependent35Business/BBANone
12A Mohammed GaniIndependent41Daily wage/Class 10None
13H Aravind KumarIndependent26Business/MBANone
14K NarasimmanIndependent42Salaried/Class 10None
15S Prithivi RajIndependent31Business/Class 12None
16R MuruganDesiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam36Travel and Real Estate / 8th Class6 pending cases
17K Surjith KumarIndependent33Business/B.TechNone
18D Venu GopalIndependent57
Daily wage/Uneducated
None
19M Rajeswari PriyaAnaithu Makkal Arasiyal Katchi38Business/B.ScNone
20T ElumalaiAnna MGR Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam41Businessman/B.ComNone
21A Dhana SekarIndependent48Daily wage/Class 6None
22  D KalanithiIndependent41Daily wage/B.ScNone
23R RavichandranIndependent55Auto driver/Class 8None
24G Prakash RobertBahujan Samaj Party42Business/B.ScNone
25Dr. V KandanIndependent40Gym/Class 10None
26S MichaelNaam Tamilar Katchi36Business/B.TechNone

Source: ECI. To know more about the candidates, check their affidavits here.

 Key Issues :

  • Just as in other constituencies, some areas in Sholinganallur also have a fair share of civic woes, such as lack of good quality roads and access to water. “The roads do not last long as low-quality materials are used. They are riddled with potholes and the roadsides are lined with construction debris,” says Satish Desappan, a resident.
  • Compared to other low-market suburbs such as Madipakkam and Keelkattalai, the condition of roads in Sithalapakkam are visibly better. But citizens have a perennial battle to fight: waste. Every street corner has mounds of free flowing garbage or overflowing bins. Cattle grazing on leftovers and plastic waste is a common sight. R Nandan, a resident, points out that the land for dumping the waste was allocated at Kolathur, 45 km from Sithalapakkam due to which a huge chunk of money is spent on just transporting the waste.

Read more: A tale of two ponds that could mean less flooding for Sholingannalur this year


  • There are several instances of using unscientific methods for road construction in Madipakkam. “We lose sleep over the state of civic infrastructure at Ram Nagar. There is flooding whenever we witness heavy rains, with the water level reaching up to our waist at times,” said M Anand, a resident.

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