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.
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Some of the localities within the constituency are Puzhuthivakkam, Madipakkam, Perungudi, Palavakkam, Kottivakkam, Injambakkam, Okkiyam Thuraipakkam, Medavakkam, Kovilambakkam, Perumbakkam and Chemmenchery west.
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
| Party | Candidate | Votes acquired | Percentage of votes polled (As per ECI website) |
| DMK | Aravind Ramesh S | 147,014 | 42.53 |
| AIADMK | Sundaram N | 132,101 | 38.21 |
| PMK | Ram Kumar K | 15,595 | 4.51 |
| Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi | Paneer Doss R | 15,129 | 4.38 |
| BJP | Ujagar Singh | 14,915 | 4.31 |
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 | Name | Party | Age | Occupation | No. of criminal Cases |
| 1 | S Aravind Ramesh | DMK | 53 | Business/Class 10 | None |
| 2 | K P Kandan | AIADMK | 57 | N/A | None |
| 3 | Rajiv Kumar | Makkal Needhi Maiam | 48 | Proprietor at private firm/ B.Sc (Physics) | None |
| 4 | R Selva Vignesh | Independent | 26 | Salaried/B.Tech | None |
| 5 | E Rajesh | Independent | 26 | Real estate/Class 12 | None |
| 6 | D. Srinivasan | Independent | 31 | Daily wage/Class 12 | None |
| 7 | K Senthil Kumar | Independent | 42 | Daily wage/Class 8 | None |
| 8 | S Senthil | Independent | 39 | Daily wage/Class 10 | None |
| 9 | A.I Ahmed Shah | Independent | 27 | Engineer/B.E | None |
| 10 | G Velavan | Independent | 33 | Daily wage/Class 9 | None |
| 11 | P Arul Raj | Independent | 35 | Business/BBA | None |
| 12 | A Mohammed Gani | Independent | 41 | Daily wage/Class 10 | None |
| 13 | H Aravind Kumar | Independent | 26 | Business/MBA | None |
| 14 | K Narasimman | Independent | 42 | Salaried/Class 10 | None |
| 15 | S Prithivi Raj | Independent | 31 | Business/Class 12 | None |
| 16 | R Murugan | Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam | 36 | Travel and Real Estate / 8th Class | 6 pending cases |
| 17 | K Surjith Kumar | Independent | 33 | Business/B.Tech | None |
| 18 | D Venu Gopal | Independent | 57 | Daily wage/Uneducated | None |
| 19 | M Rajeswari Priya | Anaithu Makkal Arasiyal Katchi | 38 | Business/B.Sc | None |
| 20 | T Elumalai | Anna MGR Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 41 | Businessman/B.Com | None |
| 21 | A Dhana Sekar | Independent | 48 | Daily wage/Class 6 | None |
| 22 | D Kalanithi | Independent | 41 | Daily wage/B.Sc | None |
| 23 | R Ravichandran | Independent | 55 | Auto driver/Class 8 | None |
| 24 | G Prakash Robert | Bahujan Samaj Party | 42 | Business/B.Sc | None |
| 25 | Dr. V Kandan | Independent | 40 | Gym/Class 10 | None |
| 26 | S Michael | Naam Tamilar Katchi | 36 | Business/B.Tech | None |
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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